Not a Bad Thing
by LemonStar
Summary: ..Daryl/Beth.. AU after episode 4x13. Daryl and Beth leave the funeral home to continue the search for the rest of their family while trying to make sense of whatever is growing between them. Daryl chooses to ignore it while Beth chooses to anaylze it.
1. Chapter 1

**This idea popped into my head just yesterday and I was very eager to get the first chapter down. **

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><p>…<p>

**Chapter One.**

They stayed at the funeral home for two more days and only left once Beth was able to convince Daryl that her ankle was honestly feeling better. Whoever had owned the funeral home in the old world had lived on the second floor and they went through the rooms before they left, searching for anything useful and after finding another bookbag, an extra blanket and a bar of soap – which Beth held clutched in her hands like gold.

"Here," Daryl grunted, coming out of the walk-in closet, handing something out for her to take. "This'll be warmer."

Beth smiled when she saw it – a heavy, thick cable knit grey sweater that smelled like mothballs and had a small hole in the collar. She took it from him and then motioned with her finger for him to turn around. He smirked and went back into the closet, seeing if there was anything else that would be useful to either of them. It was a new habit both of them had developed seemingly overnight. Neither were too willing to let the other too far from their sights. Beth wasn't entirely sure when it had started or even _why_ it had but she found herself surprisingly not minding all that much with having a man like Daryl Dixon close all of the time.

She unbuttoned the blue sweater and then peeled off the yellow polo shirt, nearly grimacing at how caked with dirt and blood both were. She dropped them onto the floor and eagerly slid the new sweater on over her head, letting it slide down. It was big on her – it previously belonging to the man of the house and it hung around her thighs and the sleeves fell past her hands. But she didn't care because it was soft and so warm and she was so grateful for it with the weather only getting colder.

She crossed the room to the walk-in closet where Daryl stood, his back turned to the door and she smiled. She cleared her throat and he instantly turned to look at her. He was doing that a lot more, too, she noticed. Looking at her. She supposed she was looking at him more, too, but she wasn't entirely sure why. She actually was trying not to think about the why.

"Gotta keep your hands free," he then muttered and he came to her then, plucking at one of the sweater sleeves and she followed his unspoken order and lifted her arm. She watched as he rolled the cuff past her wrist and then did the same with the other. "Good," he grunted once he was done.

She smiled and nodded in agreement. "Good. Anything for you?"

He shook his head. "Guy's not my size," he said. "'Bout done here?"

And though the funeral home had been good to them for the past couple of days, it was time to move on. They could never stay in one place for too long. No where was safe. Sooner or later, the walkers or other people would find them. They had to keep moving. The rest of their family was out there – she knew they were – and they would all find one another eventually. She didn't doubt it for a second.

She nodded, wondering if she would feel sad about leaving but she didn't. It felt strange but she almost felt more comfortable being outside now rather than inside four walls with a roof over her head. She knew they would have to find another shelter soon with the weather turning but for now, she craved the woods and fresh air and she finally understood why Daryl loved being outside as much as he did. Out there, she didn't feel trapped. It was crazy, she knew, but she felt safer outside in the open. With him.

In the kitchen, Beth slung the newly acquired pack onto her back and then turned around, letting Daryl put in the two jars of peanut butter, a couple cans of beans and Spaghetti-O's, and the last jar of pig's feet. He slung the other pack – the one they had been sharing – onto his back once he saw there was nothing else in any of the drawers that would be useful to them and he grabbed his crossbow.

He looked at her then and she gave him a small smile.

"Ready?" She was the one to ask.

He nodded and didn't say anything and she followed him from the kitchen. They didn't go out the front door, instead, heading towards the back. Once they were outside and the door closed behind them, she took a deep breath of the fresh air. She felt Daryl glancing at her but he didn't say anything and she didn't say anything either. They crossed the slope of the yard, heading towards the woods that laid surrounding the funeral home. As they got closer to the trees however, Daryl came to a sudden halt and Beth had taken three steps before she realized he was no longer beside her. She turned and looked back at him.

"What?" She asked, her heart already speeding up.

He was quiet another moment and then looked at her. "Run for the trees," was all he said and Beth didn't question or hesitate. She began running, hearing Daryl behind her. And just as she reached the edge of the woods, she finally heard what he had.

A car squealed to a stop beside the funeral home and Daryl pushed her back against a tree trunk, putting a finger to his lips, before pressing himself against another. She felt her heart pounding as she heard the car door opens and the sound of hurried feet. She didn't dare peek a glance and pressed herself against the tree trunk, trying to make herself as small as possible. She dared a looked to Daryl and saw him staying as still as possible, his crossbow in his hands, fingers flexing and knuckles white. He seemed to be holding his breath as he listened for more sounds.

"Son of a bitch!" A man's voice exclaimed, storming back outside, the door slamming behind him. "When the hell did they leave?"

"I don't know," another man answered. "They were still here last night."

Instead of beating rapidly, her heart suddenly stopped. Someone had known they were there? Someone had been watching her and Daryl?

She glanced over to Daryl again but he wasn't moving a single muscle except for the slight twitch in his face as he clenched his jaw tightly.

"Dawn's gonna be pissed," the second man continued. "She wanted that blonde."

Beth nearly gasped and she put her own hands over her mouth, her heart starting to beat again, pounding so rapidly in her chest, it began to ache. They were talking about her. They had been watching her, knowing she was there, and they had wanted her. Dawn had wanted her – whoever Dawn was. Why had they wanted her?

She looked to Daryl and this time, he was looking at her. His eyes were slightly narrowed, completely unreadable to her.

"Damn it," the first one cursed. "Come on. Let's just go check the other house," he said.

Moments later, the two men were back in the car and it drove off, disappearing down the road and leaving the air around them quiet again except for the chirping of a few birds. Beth slowly pulled her hands down from her mouth and looked at Daryl with wide eyes. She opened her mouth to speak but all possible words were stuck in her throat and what the hell could she say anyway? This was just another reminder that people were almost as dangerous as the walkers.

Daryl didn't say anything as he pushed himself off his tree and came to stand in front of her. She looked up at him and she felt the burning in her eyes though she did her best to blink it away. She didn't want to cry. The last time she had cried had been after they had fled the prison and they had found Luke's little shoe, covered in blood, walkers feasting on his body. She had broken down and cried for everyone – especially her father – but that had been the last time. She had sworn to herself she wouldn't cry in front of Daryl again for as long as it was just them.

He looked at her for another minute. "No one's takin' you," he said and she nodded her head quickly.

She knew that. As long as she was with Daryl, she knew.

She managed to swallow past the cotton-dry lump in her throat and again, she opened her mouth to speak but again, no words could be formed.

"Okay," she was finally able to whisper.

Daryl kept staring at her and he didn't say anything else. His eyes were dark, intense, and she looked at him, wishing she could read him. She supposed she had gotten better at it since it was just the two of them but most times, he was still able to keep most things off his face and hidden away from her.

"I'm not gonna let anyone take you," he then said, his voice soft but his words hard.

She nodded again and closed her eyes, willing her heart to slow down before it beat right out of her ribcage. She took a deep breath and then opened her eyes, pushing herself from the tree trunk. Without a word, she began walking further into the trees and Daryl fell into step beside her. She didn't look back. She was eager to leave the funeral home behind and never think of it again.

They walked in silence, neither speaking, and she had quieted her steps as he taught her to where the only thing rustling was the slight noise of their packs rubbing against their clothes as they walked.

She couldn't help but glance every once in a while over to Daryl walking next to her. It had been just them for the past few weeks. She hadn't kept time, thinking there would be no point, but it had definitely been weeks. When they fled from the prison, it had been warm and the air humid and now, a cold bite stung their skin and their breath appeared in front of them each time night fell.

And so much had changed between them in that time. Going from anger and wanting to kill one another to getting closer, working together, tension no longer between them. She had thought more than once how grateful she was that of all of the people in the prison, she had gotten out with him. She hadn't told him but she knew if it wasn't for him, she would have been dead so long ago. She knew she didn't bring much to their partnership. She knew she was more of a burden than anything to him and if it wasn't for her, maybe he would have gotten so much further already.

But after their night of moonshine and sitting on that porch and later burning that house down, Daryl had never looked to her as anything more than his companion. If he thought of her as a burden – and she knew he had to think of her that way – he never let on or revealed even the slightest to her.

The trees eventually broke, opening up into a field – once where corn had grown but now, the crops had gone wild and weeds and other vegetation had taken over. Beth went to the nearest corn stalk and pulled gently at the leaves, revealing an ear. She grimaced though when she saw it rotten within, tiny insects crawling all over it. She looked back to Daryl, he keeping watch behind her, and she shook her head.

"Might be too dangerous to pass through," he said. "But don't wanna get too close to the road," he looked around at their surroundings as he spoke and she nodded in agreement. If she never saw another road again, she might be able to forget one day about what they had heard those men say at the funeral home. "I'll go first," he said in his firm tone and she knew there was no arguing with him when he used it.

He stepped into the stalks and she pulled her knife from the sheath on her hip, following right behind. He took it slowly, cautiously, his bow aimed the entire time. The slight wind blew through the crop, the stalks swaying gently, and Beth was reminded of a haunted corn maze that the town had every year around Halloween time. A man had leapt at her one year with a hockey mask and chainsaw and she had nearly wet her pants, she had been so scared. Shawn had teased her for weeks after about how she had screamed.

She knew now that there would be no man with a chainsaw bursting through the corn to get to them but she would almost welcome it if that was the alternative to walkers. Leaves brushed against them as they forged their own path across the field and they broke through on the other side, she releasing a deep breath she hadn't realized she had been holding.

It was only then they heard the low growl and they both immediately turned to where the sound had come from. The corn stalks rustled and two walkers stumbled forth, seeing them and smelling them and shuffling their way. Daryl took aim and didn't hesitate in firing a bolt through one of their heads, the walker dropping. Beth didn't let the other one get any closer before she stalked right up to it and pushing it back with one hand, she stuck her blade in its skull. She then looked to the other body and yanked Daryl's bolt from the softened head before turning back to him.

"Gettin' good at that," he grunted as she passed him back the bolt.

She watched him as he bent down, loading the weapon again and though his arms were covered, she could just imagine the way his biceps flexed as he did. She had seen him do it more than enough times to know. She shook her head slightly at herself, wondering why the hell she was thinking about Daryl Dixon's arm muscles.

"Let's get back into the cover of the trees," he jerked his head towards the woods and she nodded, stepping in first, hearing him behind her. "You hungry?" He asked.

"Honestly, not really," she admitted. "My stomach… I keep hearing what those men were saying," she said, looking at him, finding his eyes staring at her. "We can stop though. Rest a bit?" She suggested though it came out more as a question.

Daryl nodded and looked around at where they were. "Over there," he said, jerking his chin in the direction of a collection of small boulders.

When they reached them and Beth slid off her pack, she realized how sore her shoulders were. She gratefully sank down on the ground, resting her back against one of the rocks behind her. She reached into her pack and pulled out one of the jars of peanut butter and a spoon she had taken from the kitchen. She handed both to Daryl as he sat down beside her.

He ate in silence and she pulled her knees to her chest, hugging them, resting her chin on top of one.

"I wonder what they wanted me for," she heard herself say softly.

Daryl paused to swallow and looked at her. "Wouldn' worry 'bout it," he said. "You're not goin' anywhere."

She nodded. "I know," she said in the same soft voice but hoped he could hear the confidence in which she had set her tone in. "It's just… it's just not walkers we have to worry about," she said, now in a whisper. "Even with the Governor, I guess it's just something I've allowed myself to forget. But people are still horrible to each other. Even more so now."

Daryl screwed the lid back onto the peanut butter jar and leaned back against the rock, letting on a sigh. He was quiet as he contemplated something and she watched him. Watching him helped her be calm. She knew she was safe with him. She knew he would never let anything get to her or let anyone take her from him. From him. They were together and at the moment, it was just the two of them until they reunited with the rest of their family.

She looked at him and wondered if he ever thought of that night in the kitchen. Just two nights ago in the flickering soft light of the candles, with the way he had stared at her so intently when she had asked what had changed his mind. He hadn't said anything but she could have sworn that looking at his face, she had gotten it without needing him to say it.

"_Oh."_

Nothing more than that. She had been completely stunned and the English language had fled her mind and two nights later, she wondered what she should have said instead. Anything would have been better. Or maybe she should have just taken the obvious moment between them and kissed him.

Kissing Daryl Dixon was so ludicrous though. Wasn't it? And there was no way Daryl would want her kissing him. Things had changed for the better between them but she knew that even now, Daryl was just tolerating her because she was part of the original group. There was nothing more between them. Just a newfound respect and friendship. Maybe friendship? She didn't even know if they were friends. And besides all of that, it wasn't as if she wanted to kiss Daryl. Why on earth would she ever kiss Daryl?

"Warm enough?" He asked her then, looking at her, and it wasn't what she had been expecting him to say but she nodded her head, giving him the faintest of smiles. "We'll take a few more minutes and then start walkin' again. Need to put more distance 'tween us and back there," he said and she nodded again.

He looked at her quietly for a moment and she wasn't sure what he was looking for on her face but she kept looking at him so he could see whatever it was.

But then, he moved his eyes back, leaning his head back against the rock, his eyes towards the branches overhead and he let out a soft sigh.

"Are you okay?" She asked him, still watching him.

He didn't look at her again as he nodded his head. "Gotta be."

She hesitated for just a moment but then she scooted a little closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. He stiffened for just a moment before he relaxed again and she closed her eyes, letting herself to relax, too. As long as she had Daryl's shoulder to rest her head on, she would be safe and she would be okay. They both would be.

She had to believe that because despite everything, she still wanted to believe in something.

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><p><strong>Thank you so much for reading and please review!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the reviews, favorites and follows! As always, it means the world to me. And I wish you all a wonderful new year!**

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**Chapter Two.**

Daryl took first watch as he always did.

They had stopped for the night beside a small creek they came across and after checking the area and deciding it would be safe enough for a few hours, Beth had laid down, curling on her side and using her pack for a pillow. She had covered herself with the blanket they had taken in the funeral home and had promptly fallen asleep. Daryl was relieved for that. He had been worried that maybe what had happened that morning would keep her awake.

He was doing his best to ignore it and forget it but he kept thinking how glad he was that he and Beth had gotten the hell out of that funeral home when they did. He had no idea who those men were or why whoever Dawn was, she had wanted Beth. And want her for what? He could only imagine what people would want with a pretty young girl like Beth.

The more he thought about it, the tighter his jaw clenched and his fingers tightened around the crossbow he held in his hands. He looked down at her as she slept, not able to help himself. He was hiding his anger from her. He didn't want her to think he was angry at her because that wasn't true in the least. He had absolutely no reason to be mad at her and he didn't want her to think something else. He was angry at everything else. Himself included.

For the past few weeks, he had done the best he could in keeping her safe. After they lost the prison and he had gotten out with Beth, he swore to himself that he would keep her safe. He owed her pops that much. He hadn't been able to save Hershel but he would be able to save Beth. He was ready to die to keep her safe if that's what it came down to. She was the only family he had left.

He had known, deep down, that the funeral home wasn't safe. It was too good to be true. Too clean, too much food. Good things like that didn't happen anymore in this world and he never should have let them stay. But Beth's ankle was hurting and they hadn't stopped in so long. He had allowed himself to let his guard down; had allowed himself to think that maybe they could actually stay there.

He couldn't be that stupid again; _wouldn't_ be that stupid. Beth couldn't let him be stupid. She needed him to be one his toes all of the time. Couldn't think of her soft voice as she sang songs he didn't know and faint smiles and her pale skin and blue eyes that looked so deep into him, it made him feel like running the hell away but her gaze always pinned him to the spot. He couldn't think about anything other than keeping her safe.

She shifted in her sleep and he immediately looked down at her, making sure she was still sleeping and nothing had woken her. It was quiet in the woods around them but Daryl didn't allow himself to relax. They had a few cans strung around them but even then, he listened for any type of noise getting too close. And he wasn't just listening for the shuffling of a walker. He listened for the steps of a man.

He wasn't sure what it was but he had woken up that morning and asked Beth how her ankle felt and once she had smiled and nodded, twisting it in a circle for him to see that it felt fine now, Daryl made the decision that it was time to move on. He didn't know why he had decided that but whatever it was, a feeling or intuition or whatever, he was just glad for it. He had gotten Beth out of there just in time.

But who were those guys? Where had they come from?

And what did they want with her?

Beth was never going to find out.

Making sure she was still asleep, Daryl pushed himself to his feet and carefully stepping over their cans so the noise didn't wake her, he walked around the area, making sure he could always see their campsite for the night in view. It was so dark – no moon out that night – so he relied more on his ears than his eyes.

When he was satisfied that they were the only ones in the surrounding area and he returned, he saw that Beth was awake now, sitting up. She didn't say anything when she turned her head, hearing him, and she watched him step over the cans again.

Still without a word, Beth got up then and he watched as she crossed the small space between them. Daryl didn't move a muscle as she stepped into him and her arms slid around his waist, her head pressed to his chest. He instantly thought of the last time she did this – after he had come to tell her about Zach and she had wound up caring more about how he was. He had jumped a bit then – her act of affection taking him by surprise and he wasn't used to getting hugs from anyone.

But Beth hugged him now as she had hugged him then.

Like he needed the hug more than she did.

Maybe he did. He didn't want to think how Beth could possibly know that. During their time together, she had gotten to know him better than anyone. Better than Rick. Hell, even better than Merle. He had tried to hide but it hadn't mattered. Slowly, he began exposing bits of himself, finding himself getting comfortable around her, and Beth had been there, scooping up anything he revealed, tucking it away somewhere in her mind, committing it to memory.

And just like he had done with that first hug in the prison a lifetime ago, one of his hands lifted to cup her elbow lightly and his chin rested on top of her head. He waited but she didn't say anything.

"I'll take watch now," she said, pulling her head back to look up at him though she kept her arms around his waist.

He wanted to squirm, he wanted her to pull away, but at the same time, he didn't want to move a fraction of an inch in case it did prompt her to take a step back.

He didn't know when he had started actually wanting Beth Greene touching him. He had always hated physical contact. Being his old man's whipping post for the first dozen years of his life could do that. But Beth started hugging him and he started letting her and now, it was one of those things that had been shifting between them that he was aware of but wanted to just pretend wasn't happening. It was easier if he told himself it wasn't anything because it wasn't. It was just because it was only the two of them and Beth was the affectionate sort. He just happened to be the only one around she could give her affection to.

"Not your turn," he said gruffly.

"I've slept enough. You need rest, too," she said and when she slipped away, he ignored the coolness he now felt on his chest. "Go on, Daryl. I'll take care of us."

And he felt himself nodding his head. He knew she would. He trusted her. He trusted just a handful of people in the world – _really_ trusted – and Beth was now on that list.

Without a word, he handed her over the crossbow though both knew she wouldn't be able to use it without him. She smiled softly nonetheless and he grunted before moving past her. He lowered himself onto the ground where she had been and he rested his head on her pack. He didn't close his eyes right away though. He watched as she stood there for a moment, looking out into the dark woods before she slowly turned, holding his crossbow tightly in her arms.

She saw his eyes open and she smiled a little. "Go to sleep, Daryl," she said softly as she lowered herself to the ground beside him.

He smirked and as he laid there, he realized just how tired he actually was. He thought he would have slept good enough in the funeral home – before it had been confirmed the whole thing was just one big trap – but he had slept just as shitty as he always did. He supposed he wasn't used to sleeping indoors anymore. Even when they had been in the prison, he sometimes would go out and sleep at one of the guard towers, always able to relax a bit when there was fresh air on his face.

His eyes drifted shut but he was always a light sleeper and through his sleep, he was aware of Beth's presence next to him.

He had been so angry when they had run together. Out of everyone in the prison, he was stuck with her. The weakest amongst them. He would have rather been by himself than be with her. But she was able to keep up and pushed him to keep going and she was really the only person he could think of who actually blew up at him and didn't take any more of his shit. Beth Greene took him completely by surprise with how much of a spitfire she could be.

Over the past few weeks, they had become true partners. She gave as much as he did and they kept one another alive. And he would keep her alive no matter what. They were trying to find their family – Beth's faith never wavered that they were all alive somewhere out there – and the search seemed endless but now, he knew they had another problem on their hands. Whoever those men had been at the funeral home, they were still out there.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw the sky was shades of pink and purple with dawn. He didn't see Beth at first but shaking the sleep from his brain, he sat up and saw her crouched beside the creek, splashing cold water on her face.

He watched her for a moment, she not knowing he was awake yet. She was the only person he had ever opened up to and she had such confidence in him and his abilities and he knew she truly believed that he would be the last man standing. Well, he was determined, too, and if he was the last man, she was going to be the last woman – no matter what.

She saw him, then, and she gave him a faint smile. Daryl did his best to ignore the slight clenching in his stomach. Hunger pains, he told himself.

"Good morning," she greeted him in a soft voice.

He grunted a reply and she wiped at the water droplets clinging to her skin with her hands and then came to sit beside him. She reached for his pack and sifted through the things they had scavenged over the past few weeks.

"It's our last can," she said as she pulled out a can of pears.

He nodded and stood up, taking his crossbow, stepping over the string and going some distance – but not too far – to relieve himself. When he came back, she had opened the can of pears and was eating it with the one of the two spoons they had.

He sat down beside her. "We'll stick to the woods," he said and she nodded, handing him the can and the other spoon. He slurped a pear into his mouth as he looked around. The woods remained quiet around them but the quiet did nothing but make him nervous; always anticipating that quiet to suddenly crash down and something horrible happening. He looked back to Beth, watched as she picked at a fray of one of the holes in her jeans. Her being quiet made him nervous, too. "Maybe we'll find a house or two. Can scavenge some stuff," he said.

Again, she nodded but didn't say anything and he didn't have anything else to say.

They finished the can and split the juice between them before they cleaned the camp up, gathering their packs and string of cans and filling their bottles with water from the creek. The sun was almost completely past the horizon line by the time they were off, walking towards the sun, Daryl figuring east was as good a direction as any. Beth was walking behind him and she had learned how to quiet her steps but he could still hear her. He was probably the only one who would be able to.

They walked for miles, hours, running into a random walker now and then – Daryl taking out some while Beth took out the others.

"Daryl," she said his name and he instantly turned towards her, crossbow aimed. She was crouched next to a fallen tree, looking at something on the ground and he came next to her to see what it was. "These are safe, right?" She asked him.

He looked closely at the mushrooms she had spotted. "You tell me."

She was quiet, plucking one up and studying it closely. She then nodded. "Yes?" She looked up at him.

"Try and sound confident," he smirked a little.

"Yes," she said again, a smile tugging at one corner of her mouth. "Right?"

He didn't say anything. He reached into his back pocket for the bandana he always carried back there and handed it to her. Her smile came easier now as she picked all of the mushrooms, carefully placing them within the bandana and then safely tucking it into the front pocket of her pack.

"Can't wait for everyone to see you when we find 'em again," he said as she stood up.

She looked at him then, her smile softening but still stretched across her lips. "That's the first time you've done that."

"Done what?" He felt his brow furrow.

"Actually sounding like we _will_ find them," she said and her chin was tilted up slightly, her eyes locked with his and she was like some damn animated animal in a cartoon – all soft smiles and huge eyes. She made him so uncomfortable, looking up at him like his words had truly made her happy and it nearly made him want to take a step back. He hated when she looked at him like that and she had been doing it more lately. He wondered if she even realized she was doing it. "You believe we will?" She asked and he swore she stood closer to him now.

He shrugged. "Come on," he jerked his head to the side and began walking again.

This time, Beth fell into step beside him and he expected her to keep going on and on about what he said but she was quiet again. They heard a rustling of leaves at the same time and they both stopped, Daryl lifting the crossbow in his arms and Beth taking the knife from the sheath at her hip.

There were three walkers, shuffling their way, and Daryl fired at one, the bolt finding a home through its skull. He then took out his knife and he and Beth killed the other two without a problem. He knew Beth had killed plenty of walkers at the prison, stabbing them in the head with a piece of chain link fence between them. But when they had first been out here together, he noticed how weak she was. Not just mentally and emotionally but physically, too. She struggled to take a walker down when it was just one-on-one.

"You think they'll be surprised?" She asked as he pulled his bolt from the soft skull.

"They'd have to be blind not to notice the ways you've changed," he shrugged and she smiled again. He quickly turned his head away and started walking again.

He wished she wouldn't smile so much.

Beth walked beside him. "I can't wait to show Maggie. I can't wait to _see_ Maggie."

Daryl didn't say anything and Beth fell quiet again. They continued walking until the trees ended and they came to a road. Across the street, there was one of those newer cookie-cutter type houses probably built right before things went to shit that stood out from all of its other surroundings. He had always hated houses like that.

He looked to Beth as she stood there next to him. "If it's too clean, we're not stayin'."

She nodded her head rapidly, her fingers clutching around the handle of her knife.

They crossed the street and approached the house, both climbing the steps silently. Daryl stood, his crossbow raised and aimed, and Beth stood off to the side of the door. She knocked loudly first with her fist and then slowly twisted the knob, pushing the door open. She then knocked on the doorframe again. They waited a moment and when they heard the snarl, Daryl stepped in, seeing the walker standing in the living room as if it had been waiting for company to arrive. Daryl fired and took it down easily. Together, they then swept the first floor, killing another in the laundry room and another in the family room.

Without a word, Daryl went to the kitchen and Beth went to the bathroom. She came out just a minute later, a box of Band-Aids and a half full bottle of expired Aspirin. She slipped both into her pack and then helped him open the cabinets. There wasn't that much left but Daryl found himself relieved with that. If they had opened to fully stocked cabinets, he would have grabbed Beth and carried her out of there if he had to. He remembered those guys saying they had another house somewhere. It could be anywhere and Daryl had to keep himself on his toes at all times.

"Here," Beth came from the pantry, holding up a lone pack of Ramen noodles.

Daryl couldn't help but smile a little when he saw it and she smiled, too. But then he quickly remembered himself and wiped the smile from his face. He couldn't smile at her. Things were better between them – easier, more comfortable – but things were already too complicated in the world without adding to it.

_Oh_.

Fucking word. Daryl had never hated a word more.

"Let's check upstairs," he said and she nodded, following behind him as he carefully crept up to the second floor.

There were no more walkers and as Beth went into the bathrooms, Daryl checked the closets. He found a pair of clean socks for himself and one of those puffy sleeveless vests stuffed with goose feathers and he took it to Beth, holding it out to her without a word. She gave him a small smile and slipped it on. Like the sweater, it was too big but it would keep her warm and she zipped it up, patting the front of it.

"I'm like the Michelin Man," she joked and he allowed himself to smirk a little at that.

"Find anythin'?" He asked.

She shook her head. "Just a pair of tweezers. Might come in handy," she shrugged.

He nodded and without a word, he headed back down the stairs, hearing her following behind.

He didn't want to stay there a second longer than they had to even if it looked as if no one had been around here for a long time. He didn't want to risk it. He couldn't.

Not when it came to Beth.

…

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><p><strong>Thank you so much for reading and please review!<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**I know this story has been done many times before by others but I'm excited to try and put my own twist on the idea. **

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><p>…<p>

**Chapter Three. **

He was in one of his moods today – the near-silent mood where anything was answered with a grunt or not answered at all. Beth was used to it and when he was like this, she found herself being quiet as well. She knew that by tomorrow, he would probably snap himself out of it and be back to growling at her as usual.

He walked ahead and it had been hours since he had last said anything and she walked behind and she didn't ask where they were going or what they were doing. They had stumbled upon a set of railroad tracks the day before and they seemed to just following those for no rhyme or reason. Beth didn't mind though. It seemed as good a plan as any. Maybe, if the others had stumbled upon the same tracks, they would follow them, too, and they would all meet again.

She began humming to herself and she thought of that night in the funeral home where she had played the piano and she had sang because he had actually wanted her to. She knew her singing wasn't his favorite but she did it because it was probably the only thing left in this world that made her feel remotely normal. And finally, he seemed to understand that.

She thought of their last night in the kitchen as he ate his jelly with a spoon and she wrote a thank-you note by candlelight. She was an idiot. Writing a thank-you note to people who wanted to abduct her for some reason; not that she had known that at the time but still. She didn't know why she was so desperate to still see the good in everything. There was no more light. No more good. Everything had gone dark and bad and she knew she was stupid to still think anything otherwise.

But Daryl had been staring at her with suck a dark intensity, it had made her stomach clench. She had never been looked at like that before; like he was ready to devour her and cling to her all at the same time. Like her, he thought there were still good people in the world. Because of her. He hadn't said it but she hadn't needed him to. She had understood perfectly and she wondered when she and Daryl Dixon had reached that level with one another where words weren't always necessary.

Daryl stopped suddenly and her hand automatically went to the hilt of her knife. But he didn't have his crossbow raised and slowly, Beth took the steps to stand beside him. Up ahead, there were words written on the side of some type of utility shed in walker blood, the said walker dead and ripped open on the ground nearby.

_Glenn, go to Terminus – Maggie_

Maggie. Maggie was alive.

Beth nearly gasped and chocked on the air in her throat. She stared at the words, her heart drumming in her chest. Her sister was alive and on the same tracks as they were. Maybe she was just a few days ahead of them. And Glenn, Glenn was alive, too. Or Maggie obviously thought.

She read the note again and again and then slowly, the words seemed to settle completely over her and she lowered her eyes to the ground. No note for her. Maggie had only addressed Glenn, her husband, even if she didn't know he was alive or not. No note to Beth though.

She felt her throat grow thick.

Of course Maggie wouldn't write a note to her. Why would she? Everyone probably thought she had never made it from the prison. They would never expect that she was still alive and that she had made it this far. Glenn was stronger. Of course Maggie would believe her husband was still alive and not her own sister. Why waste a note on an already dead girl?

She felt Daryl's eyes on her but she didn't look at him. She couldn't. It was just like what she had shouted to him at that moonshine shack. She wasn't like the others and he didn't understand how she had survived. Apparently, no one could understand. Beth Greene was very much just another dead girl in all of their eyes. And it stung so painfully that Maggie was one of those who thought the same thing.

Without a word or look at him, she began walking and this time, Daryl was behind her. She was suddenly glad Daryl was the one with her. Daryl wasn't about to ask her how she was feeling or what she thought. He wasn't going to make her talk about her feelings because he knew that right now, all she felt was a crushing sadness. For weeks, she had pushed Daryl on and on, not letting him give up the search for the others and this whole time, her own sister hadn't been looking for her. Maybe, she would feel anger later but right now, she just felt like sobbing.

"It's because I tried to kill myself," she said softly a couple of hours later as they stopped to eat something. They sat side by side in the grass beside the tracks, sharing a bottle of water and can of cold beans between them. Daryl didn't say anything; didn't even look at her but that was more than okay with her. "Ever since then, no matter what, I've been just some little weak girl in her eyes. It's okay," she sighed and finally turned her head to look at him. Daryl turned his head to look at her, too. "It's okay," she said again. "I get it."

She saw Daryl clench his jaw slightly but he didn't say anything and she did her best to give him a small smile to show that it really was okay. Maybe if she told herself that enough times, she would even begin to believe it.

Her thumb found its way through the bracelets on her wrist and began rubbing small circles over the deep, familiar scar. "I didn't do it for attention," she whispered.

"Never should 'ave said that to you," he grunted a minute later.

She shrugged. "It's okay," she whispered.

He sighed heavily then but said nothing else. They finished their lunch in silence and he stood up first, looking up the tracks and then back in the direction they had come.

She watched him as he kept watch, obviously thinking things over in his mind. He was handsome in a way she never would have thought for herself before. She thought of Jimmy and Zach and both had been such pretty boys. _Boys_. That's exactly what they had been no matter how old they were. But Daryl was a man. Big and strong with actual muscles that rippled just like she had read about in those cheap romance paperback novels her mother had sometimes read and Beth would sneak.

He looked at her then. "We should set up a camp for the night," he said.

"Already?" She asked, finishing up and standing up, swinging the pack onto her back.

He nodded. "Sun's gonna be down soon. Don't want you walkin' in the dark."

She nodded, not saying anything, instead taking a final swig from the water bottle.

He kept staring at her. "What do you think?" He said.

Beth couldn't help her eyes from widening slightly. "Me?" She stared at him, wondering why he was asking. He had never asked for her input before.

"You're the only one I'm walkin' with," he said, his lips weighed in a frown.

She nodded her head quickly because she didn't know what else to do, still looking at him, confused as to why he suddenly asked her for her opinion. Was it because he felt bad for her about Maggie? Why did he care?

He led the way up the small incline that led into the trees and he turned back, offering her his hand. She grabbed hold of it and he gripped it tightly, helping her upwards. His hand was warm and rough and she felt like an idiot for feeling her stomach clench again. Why was she reacting to Daryl Dixon touching her in the most innocent of ways like that?

Within the trees, still keeping the train tracks in view, they went about setting up their camp for the night. He strung the cans as she dug a small hole and lit the fire.

"I'm gonna see if there's anythin' to hunt 'round here," he said.

She nodded and didn't say anything and she felt like she was turning into him, picking up on his moods, slowly losing the desire to communicate verbally. He didn't say anything as he took his crossbow and disappeared further into the woods and she sat there, staring into the small fire, watching the flames crackle and dance.

She couldn't get Maggie's note out of her head. Terminus. What was Terminus? Was it someplace safe? There were no safe places anymore. And she knew it was childish and petty but suddenly, if Terminus was where Maggie was going, Beth didn't want to be there. She didn't want to see Maggie. Maggie thought she was dead so Beth figured she could just stay away and keep acting dead as Maggie reunited with her husband since Glenn was apparently the only one she cared about.

She missed her dad. She really, _really_ missed her dad.

She tried so hard to keep herself from crying but she told herself that Daryl wasn't around right now and that was the only reason why she allowed the hot tears to splash down her cheeks. She didn't have anyone. Her daddy was dead and her sister had no faith in her and all she had in this world was Daryl Dixon and he only tolerated her on his best days. She had no one.

Maybe she should let those men - whoever they were - just take her if they ever crossed paths again.

She didn't hear him but he never made noise when he walked and she scrambled to wipe at her cheeks as he stepped into their camp again, not wanting him to see her tears though Daryl Dixon wasn't an idiot and he definitely wasn't blind. He knew she was crying no matter how desperate she was to hide the evidence.

He didn't say a word about it though as he sat down on the ground near her. He had a squirrel and it wasn't going to be nearly enough for one of them, let alone both, but she didn't say anything as he began to skin it. One squirrel was better than nothing.

The sun was slowly sinking lower in the sky and there were no noises except for the pops of the fire. She hugged her legs to her chest, resting her chin on one of her knees and he finished skinning and cleaning it, moving closer to the fire to begin cooking the paltry amount of meat.

"You don't have to stay with me," the words suddenly spilled past her lips.

Daryl froze in his actions to stare at her.

"You can keep going to Terminus, whatever that is. Maybe the others are going there, too, and you'll find everyone again." She brought her legs down and folded them, her eyes looking to her hands in her lap. "You shouldn't be stuck with me."

He was quiet for a minute as he moved the meat over the fire. "Didn' think I was," Daryl said gruffly. He then shook his head and stared at her. "Not goin' anywhere without you, Beth."

She felt a flipping in her stomach that she tried not to think about but how could she not get such a reaction when Daryl was staring at her and saying things like that? She kept forgetting that things had changed between them now. Different. Better. They had a slight bond between them now.

He cooked the meat and split it in half, giving her the larger portion but she shook her head, giving some of it back to him.

"You need your strength more than me," she said.

He grunted something which she knew was a response of some sort but he didn't make another noise and they ate their small meal in silence. After she was done, she laid down on her side, curling into a small ball, staring into the fire. She folded her arm beneath her head and used it as a pillow and she heard Daryl making a few movements but she didn't move her eyes to look at what he was doing. A few moments later, the one blanket they had was draped over her.

"Thank you," she said softly, her eyes still set on the flames.

Daryl moved again and she saw him settle his back against the tree next to her. Neither said anything and the sun slowly disappeared completely from the sky.

She couldn't help but think of where Maggie was right now. Who was she with? Had she already found Glenn and they were heading towards Terminus together? Had Maggie thought about her at all this whole time? Beth felt like an idiot for trying so hard and pushing Daryl so hard in finding any of them – especially her. They would all want to find Daryl again. He was so useful and much needed. She couldn't imagine anyone sparing a second thought towards her. She thought she would always have Maggie in her corner but that had been proven quite wrong today.

"We don't have to go to Terminus," he spoke, surprising her. "Don't even know what the hell that is."

Beth shook her head slightly. "I don't want to go," she said in an almost-whisper.

"Then we won't," he said.

She lifted her head, sitting up to look at him. He looked at her and said nothing else. She crawled over and sat down beside him. Without a word she covered them both with the blanket and she rested her head on his shoulder. This time, he didn't stiffen or even flinch at her touch. They sat there as the night grew darker around them. She shivered slightly and he made sure she was covered with more of the blanket.

"If we don't go there, where will we go?" She asked.

He shrugged the shoulder her head wasn't resting on. "We'll figure it out."

"Did you want to go to Terminus?"

"Doesn' matter much to me either way," he said and she knew it didn't.

She fell her eyes grow heavy but her mind was racing still and she wasn't ready to go to sleep yet. "I've been missing her so much," she whispered, her eyes burning as they flooded with more tears.

Daryl didn't say anything but she knew he was listening.

"I've always loved her and looked up to her and I always considered her to be one of my best friends. I just always assumed that she looked at me the same way. God, I am so stupid. You think I would have learned by now."

"You ain't stupid," he said in a soft, low voice. "And there ain't nothin' to learn. Family's supposed to give a shit about you."

She was quiet for a moment. "You're the only family I have left," she then told him, lifting her head to look at his face.

He turned his head and looked at her, his eyes staring into hers. "And I ain't goin' anywhere," he said.

She gave a small smile then, finally feeling like she was able to, and she snuggled closer to him, shivering again and burrowing more beneath the blanket. She let out a small yawn and closed her eyes. She felt him beside her, felt his warmth, and she thought that maybe she would finally be able to shut her mind off enough to get some sleep. Daryl was next to her and he always would be. She didn't doubt that or him. She meant it. He really was the only family she had; the only one she could depend on.

What a strange turn things could take in this new world.

She woke a few hours later to him gently shaking her thigh.

"My turn?" She yawned, slowly becoming more alert, lifting her head from where it was still resting on his shoulder, and he nodded. "Here," she gently put a hand on his head and guided it down onto her shoulder.

She didn't expect him to leave it there and when her hand dropped away, she just assumed he would immediately pull away. But she realized he must have been more tired than normal because he left his head resting on her shoulder and it sounded as if he immediately fell asleep, his breath soft and deep and his hair tickled her cheek.

She smiled a little as she looked into the dark trees, her knife out of the sheath and resting beside her. She listened to every small sound made, training her ears the way Daryl had been teaching her.

There was no shuffling though, no growling of walkers or the steps of a person. The woods were quiet and she sat there against the tree with Daryl sleeping beside her, on her, and she almost felt a fleeting moment of safety.

Just for a fleeting moment though before she shook it away. They were never safe and she wasn't naïve enough anymore to fool herself into thinking that.

When the birds began chirping in the trees above their heads and the sky began to turn pink with dawn, Daryl shifted and then slowly, his head lifted from her shoulder. He looked at her and she gave him a small smile, knowing he would probably be embarrassed of having his head resting on her for the past four hours.

"Good morning," she greeted softly.

He grunted.

After they put the fire out and collected their strings of cans, they shared another can of beans between them and they stepped from the woods again. Daryl slid down the incline and then looked back up at her. Beth stepped as carefully as she could but she wound up sliding anyway, nearly falling, landing right against his chest. The impact of her body against his though didn't even budge him back an inch. He stood as solid as a tree and she looked up at him, her hands on his chest as she gathered her balance.

"You a'right?" He asked and she couldn't stop looking up at him.

She realized she was still touching his chest and she quickly pulled her hands away. She nodded her head rapidly, feeling as if her hands were on fire. She felt so warm all over and she glanced at Daryl before looking away quickly, feeling a flush rising in her cheeks and hoping Daryl hadn't noticed. But she knew he did. He always noticed everything. He probably didn't understand it though and she knew she definitely didn't understand it.

Touching Daryl Dixon's chest and feeling warmth from his chest and blushing because of Daryl Dixon. Did he feel the same kind of warmth from her touch?

What on earth was going on all of a sudden?

…

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><p><strong>Thank you so much for reading and please review!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you so much to those who are reading and commenting! I'm really excited for what I have planned for this story. Others will begin to appear in the next chapter. **

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><p>…<p>

**Chapter Four.**

She was so damn quiet and Daryl didn't know what to do except blame Maggie for it. He was calling that girl less than nice words in his head but he didn't really care. When he had seen the sign she had left for Glenn, Daryl had felt a slow anger building and burning in the pit of his stomach and he had almost grabbed Beth and spun her away before she could see.

Girl had been pushing both of their asses for the past few weeks – or had it been months already? – to try and find any of their family again, especially her sister. And the first sign they had finally found of any of them being alive was of Maggie only worrying about her husband, not even seeming to waste a thought for her sister.

He glanced back over his shoulder, knowing Beth was back there but still needing to check and see with his own eyes. He had been teaching her how to hunt and track and how to use his crossbow though she couldn't load it without him and she seemed to be learning well, her footsteps damned near silent. As if sensing his eyes on her, she lifted her eyes and looked at him. She looked sad and Daryl didn't like it. She wasn't supposed to look like that. Out of the two of them, she was supposed to be the optimistic one. Daryl wasn't adequate enough to take over that role and he needed the optimism because it pushed them on every day.

Even though they had decided not to go to Terminus, they were still sticking to the tracks. Maybe the rest of their family were following the tracks as well and they would hopefully meet somewhere along the way.

He cleared his throat. "You a'right?" He asked her and he knew the question was a stupid one. Of course she wasn't. Her sister had written her off for dead, clearly not sharing the same spark of faith that Beth always had.

Beth nodded. "Sure," she said and gave him a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

He just kept staring at her though. First those guys in that car wanting to take her somewhere, to someone named Dawn, and now Maggie only caring about Glenn. He knew she had toughened up, being out here with just him, but he looked at her and he didn't realize just how tough she had gotten because he wouldn't blame her if she just wanted to sit down and cry for a few minutes. It had been a hell of a few days.

"Wanna take lead for a while?" He asked.

"Okay," she said softly and stepped past him, continuing to walk down the tracks.

Daryl watched for a moment before he slung the crossbow strap onto his shoulder and walked after her. They were quiet but suddenly, Daryl didn't like it. He wanted her to talk; to sing; to hum. _Something_.

"What was your favorite food?" He asked, nearly blurting the question out, and she looked over her shoulder at him. She probably thought he was crazy and he didn't think she was too far off because he sure as hell felt it.

She smiled a little, turning her head forward again, and Daryl took a few long strides to walk beside her. He looked at her as her face seemed to relax into what it normally looked like. Soft with the slightest red across her cheeks. Her smile seemed more like her usual smile, too. Maybe asking the question wasn't too crazy after all.

"Ice cream," she answered after taking a minute to think it through. "I used to have a bowl of it every night after dinner. Mama said I was probably going to get diabetes or something if I kept that habit but honestly, what kid thought about that when there was ice cream involved?" Her small smile remained.

"What was your favorite?" He heard himself ask.

"Butter pecan," she replied immediately.

"Huh," Daryl commented before he could stop himself.

She looked at him and laughed a little. "Huh?" She teased.

"Yeah." He kept his eyes forward. "Would have taken you for bein' a strawberry kind of girl or somethin' like that."

"Nope," she smiled a bit easier and shook her head. "Butter pecan kind of girl." She nudged him playfully then with her elbow lightly into his arm and he felt the corner of his lips twitching in a smirk.

He thought of this morning, waking up with his head on her shoulder and how he couldn't remember the last time he had gotten a good solid four hours of sleep like that. He tried not to think of how he had kept his head there for hours, being so close to her like that with so much physical contact. Her shoulder was bony but to him, it had felt like one of those fancy goose-down pillows. It had felt… nice.

He wasn't going to think about it anymore though and he sure as hell wasn't going to let it happen again. Last thing either of them needed.

"I'd kill every single walker in this world if it meant I could have a big bowl of ice cream again," she said.

"Glad I'm with you then," he smirked and she laughed softly.

"What about you?" She looked to him. "What was your favorite food before?"

He was quiet, thinking the question over, not having really been expecting her to ask him back though he should have known better. That's who Beth was. For some reason, she wanted to know things about him and even stranger, he found himself willing to tell her things. He had to remind himself sometimes that she was the only person in this entire world who knew things about him before the turn. Not even Rick had known. And even after she knew, Beth still only wanted to know more. His answers never scared her or pushed her away. He had learned already that nothing seemed to ever push Beth back.

He thought the question over as if he wanted to give the best answer possible. "I worked in a grocery store for a couple of weeks after I dropped out of high school. Just unloadin' boxes and the manager was an alright guy. Let me take a couple pieces of fruit if I wanted. Loved the yellow apples the most."

He looked at her and Beth was smiling as if he had just told her he knew the cure to this whole damn mess. Her smile was so bright and looking at it, it made him want to smile, too.

"I'd kill someone for one of those yellow apples," he said.

She laughed. "Someone other than me," she teased.

"Anyone 'sides you," he nodded as if it was a promise he had to make to her and she laughed, nudging him again.

"Okay. Um… what was your favorite movie?" She asked and her voice was lighter, brighter, and Daryl felt the pressure lessen a bit from his chest. She sounded normal.

Again, he thought his possible answers over before giving one. He had always loved movies and some nights, when Merle had already passed out or had gone home with some woman he had picked up in the bar earlier, Daryl would go home and stretch out on the couch, watching movies until the sun came up again. He had seen so many, it was hard for him to pick just one.

But before he could answer, Beth's steps faltered beside him and he looked at her, seeing her eyes looking at something ahead and Daryl followed her eyes.

Son of a bitch.

_Glenn, go to Terminus – Maggie_

Another sign with another dead walker just a couple of feet away. Daryl instantly looked to Beth again but her eyes were lowered to the ground and the brightness that had been there just a moment ago was wiped away again.

"Fuckin' Maggie," he swore under his breath.

"Hey," Beth said softly and her hand lifted, resting lightly on his arm. "It's okay, Daryl. She's married." And even though she had said the words, he didn't for a second think she actually believed that it was okay.

His face pulled into a scowl. "What does that have to do with anythin'?" He almost demanded from her.

"Your priorities are different when you're married," she said.

Daryl just kept frowning at her. "Blood's blood," he then practically ground out. "Just 'cause she's married doesn't mean you ain't her sister anymore."

Beth sighed softly but said nothing more. Her hand was still resting on his arm and she slowly slipped it down to his hand. He stared into her face as her fingers slid over his, interlacing them together like she had standing in that cemetery. And like then, Daryl didn't pull his hand away now this time neither.

They stood in the middle of the train tracks and she looked up at him as he looked down at her and he had no idea how she was still so soft. He was dirty and rough – in more ways than one – but Beth had the softest skin he had ever felt – now and before the turn.

"Promise me something," she requested and he nodded without hesitating. "If something happens to me-"

"Nothin's happenin' to you," he frowned heavily at her.

"If something happens to me," she continued as if he hadn't interrupted. "And we get separated, promise me you won't stop looking for me."

"I won't stop," he promised, thinking it might be the easiest promise he had ever made to someone. "And you're a tracker now, too. You're not gonna stop lookin' for me either."

"I won't," she shook her head, her promise as immediate as his to her had been.

"Nothin's happenin' to you," he then told her again.

She nodded her head slowly and she looked down to their interlocked hands. She gave his a gentle squeeze and her thumb brushed over his knuckles. Daryl felt a warmth flush across the back of his neck that he did his best to ignore. That was happening more and more around Beth. Started in that damn funeral home and had been continuing since then. The slightest touch from her or a look with her eyes and he felt the back of his neck catch on fire.

He didn't get it. He didn't want to get it.

He pulled his hand back from hers and wrapped both of his around the strap of his bow, still feeling the warmth and now he felt a damn tingle in his hands. He couldn't help but frown and Beth quickly moved her eyes away, pulling at the straps of her backpack. Without a word, she turned and began walking again down the tracks.

He felt himself exhaling a deep breath and he followed behind. They didn't continue their game and he felt a bubble of disappointment in his chest but he didn't catch up with her so he could start it again.

He noticed something growing in the overgrown grass alongside the track and he stopped to look at it, his eyes knowing what he was looking at but his brain not seeming to understand. But without a thought, he stooped down and plucked it from the ground, holding it up in front of his face, the red fruit swinging back and forth.

"Beth," he said her name gruffly, still staring at his find, and when she turned around towards him and saw what it was, she gasped, hurrying back to him.

"Oh, my gosh, Daryl." Her hands flew to her mouth. "Where did you find those?"

"Just growin' wild," he said and then handed her the small bushel. "Here, hold 'em."

He stepped from the tracks and carefully into the grass where he had found the strawberries, beginning to search for more. He found one more plant with three more growing on it and he carefully picked it from the ground.

"Oh my gosh," she said again as he held it up. "This is the best day of my life," she said and he felt himself smiling at that.

But no sooner had the words left her mouth, there was a rustling in the trees behind Daryl and a low growl. He handed Beth the other plant and whipped the crossbow up into his arms, taking aim. The walker stumbled out, catching sight and smell of them, his jaws already snapping but Daryl fired a bolt into his head within seconds.

He wasn't going to let anything ruin the best day of Beth's life for her.

…

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><p>They stopped for the night, staying near the tracks as they had been doing, just on the edge of the trees. She lit a small fire and he was able to track down a rabbit and Beth's smile when he showed her the catch for their dinner made him smile, too.<p>

"We're having a feast tonight," she said as she ate her piece roasted rabbit. "It's been a long time since we've had anything besides squirrel or snake."

"Damn walkers are eatin' up everythin' with a pulse," he said, eating his own piece.

She smiled. "I didn't say I hated squirrel or snake. Rabbit is just more… normal?" She raised her voice at the end to pose the question. "Maybe normal isn't the right word I want to use."

He shrugged. "Makes sense. Most people wouldn't have made a face if they were offered rabbit."

"If a person makes any kind of face nowadays over anything, they deserve to starve," Beth said and he couldn't help but look at her in surprise at that. She noticed, looking at him and she blushed.

He smirked, shaking his head. "You're turnin' vicious, Greene," he joked.

She smiled and he noticed her blush get darker.

After they ate the rabbit, he divided the strawberries up but Beth shook her head, giving him a sigh and a look. Without a word, she handed him two of the strawberries he had handed to her so they both had three.

"You can be so stubborn sometimes," she said and Daryl couldn't help but let out a snort at that.

"Guess we're learnin' all sorts of things from each other," he commented, making her laugh. He had no idea he was such a funny guy until he and Beth wound up together.

He nearly frowned at the use of that word in his thoughts. They weren't together. Well, yeah, they were together but not _together_. Not like that.

He watched as she carefully stored two of the strawberries into her pack and hugging her knees to her chest with one arm, she brought the one remaining strawberry to her mouth. She closed her eyes as she took the first bite and Daryl couldn't help but be fascinated as she let out a soft moan from her pursed lips.

"Good?" He felt one corner of his mouth move upwards.

She opened her eyes and smiled at him. "I've never tasted anything more delicious."

He didn't know why but he shifted at her words and quickly averted his eyes. He brought one of the strawberries to his mouth and took a big bite, leaving nothing but the little green leaves behind, which he tossed over his shoulder.

He jumped, startled, when Beth suddenly reached over and her thumb was on his chin, wiping away a drop of juice that had slid down past his lips. He stared at her and she stared at him, her eyes slightly wide as if she couldn't believe she had just done that, but she wasn't moving her thumb away.

He waited, not even breathing, but a minute ticked by and neither were moving. Finally, Daryl was able to get himself to pull his head back and her hand fell. He ignored the searing on the back of his neck or the way his chin was actually feeling like it was tingling. He rubbed at his chin with his fingers as if that would wipe the sensation of her touch from it.

"You gotta stop doin' that, Beth," he couldn't stop himself from frowning at her.

Beth's legs were folded in front of her and she looked at her hands in her laps, fingers fidgeting with one another. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I don't mean to."

Daryl didn't believe her but he didn't call her out on it. He wanted to ask her why she was touching him all of the time now but he knew he wouldn't be able to form the question on his tongue. It had been hard enough telling her to stop. And he sure as hell wasn't about to admit that he actually didn't mind all that much when she touched him. That would only lead to too many damn questions from the both of them that he sure as hell didn't have the answers to.

"I won't do it again, Daryl. I promise." She was looking at him again and he told himself not to but he found himself looking into her eyes, practically falling into them, and he wished she hadn't made a promise.

Daryl swiftly swore at himself and at her silently in his head.

Why did her eyes have to be so damn big? And why did it matter to him that they were too big? He could care less. He really could. Her eyes did nothing to fight off walkers or find food. They did absolutely nothing to keep them alive. So why the fuck did he find himself staring into her eyes and able to forget everything else for a few seconds? He couldn't forget anything or drop his guard. Not when they were out here and anything - living or not – could come at them.

He grabbed his crossbow and stood up quickly. "I'll take first watch," he said.

She nodded and didn't say anything. He looked to her and her eyes were focused on the fire in front of her, staring at nothing else, and he knew the sadness on her face this time had nothing to do with Maggie. He tried to not think about it.

…

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><p><strong>Thank you so much for reading and please review!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you very much to everyone reading this. As I mentioned, I'm excited for what I have planned in regards to this one.**

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><p>…<p>

**Chapter Five. **

She made a conscious effort to keep distance between them at all times. They walked along the tracks, she in the lead and he a couple of feet behind her. They hadn't exchanged a word yet that day. When she woke him as the sun began to rise, he looked at her but she was already moving away from him, wanting to apologize for shaking him with her hand but she told herself that he would have preferred that over her just kicking him away or throwing rocks at him. They took apart their camp and without discussing it – the plan never changed – they began down the tracks.

She had been so hurt the night before when he had told her to stop touching him and had slept restless for her four hours. But now, in the light of day, as they walked and were silent between them, she told herself there was no reason to be hurt.

Daryl hated to be touched. She remembered that night out in her cell, when he had told her about Zach's death, she had gone to him and hugged him and he had jumped as if she was about to punch him. She had never seen anyone touch Daryl except an occasional slap on the shoulder by Rick. Carol had always been affectionate with him but Beth had always noticed how uncomfortable Daryl always looked by it. The only one who had ever been able to touch him and get him to smile was baby Judith as she clapped her hands and tugged on his hair.

Beth felt like an idiot. Yes, things had significantly changed between them since they got drunk on moonshine but that didn't mean that they had changed so much where she was able to give her own brand of affection towards him. There was no reason for her to be hurt. So, Daryl didn't want her touching him. So what? It wasn't that big of a surprise or that big of a deal. Why did she feel hurt over it? It was Daryl Dixon. It wasn't as If she actually wanted to touch him or want him touching her.

She was just lonely. That was it. She was feeling completely alone and Daryl was the only person she had. That's all it was. There was absolutely nothing more to it.

She suddenly thought of what she and her friends would say to one another when they were teasing one another. _"Not if he was the last boy on earth_." Apparently, to Daryl, not if she was the last girl – and she very well might be. Okay, if she thought about it that way, she couldn't ignore the sharp piercing in her chest. And then she almost let out a screech of frustration. What was she doing? It was Daryl Dixon. She couldn't say that to herself enough. What? Was she actually attracted to Daryl? Did she actually like Daryl?

Beth sighed softly because she knew the answers to both questions.

She wasn't sure when it had happened. Maybe when they sat on that porch and he had actually told her a story about his life before the turn. It wasn't a pretty story but she knew he had told her that so she would know. She was the only living person to know what Daryl Dixon had done and who he had been before the turn. He had opened up and trusted her with that knowledge and she made a silent promise to him that he would never regret confiding that in her.

Or maybe it had been when they found the funeral home and he had given her a piggyback ride and had laid flowers on that headstone as she mourned the loss of her father and she had slipped her hand into his, lacing her fingers with his, and he stood next to her, strong and silent, knowing that she needed just a few minutes.

They passed another Maggie sign to Glenn but she didn't even pause to look at it. She really didn't have anyone. Her dad was dead, Maggie was already convinced she shared the same fate and now, her sole companion left in this world seemed to be repulsed at just the idea of being too close to her. There were men in a car from somewhere, setting houses up and snatching people away, taking them God only knew where to someone named Dawn and the dead were walking around, trying to devour them. She never allowed herself to lose her hope – she told herself it could always be worse – but right then, she had no idea how it possibly could be.

"Beth."

He said her name so suddenly, she couldn't help but jump slightly, startled. She turned to look at him and he looked back at her for a moment before cocking his head to the side.

She didn't ask what they were doing. He stepped from the tracks and headed into the trees and she simply followed. He may not have liked her but he was still the only person she had left in this world and she would stick with him for as long as she could. She wouldn't even dream of leaving him and it had absolutely nothing to do with her silly crush. Daryl kept her safe and alive and he hadn't said it but she knew he trusted her. Daryl actually trusted _her_.

He led them through the trees and they came upon a small stream. She didn't ask how he had known this was here. Daryl was a tracker and apparently, he could even track down water.

Still without exchanging words, Beth took off her pack and kneeled down, placing her bottle down, filling it with more water. The water was freezing cold. Daryl silently held out to her the other bottle and she took it, making sure their fingers didn't even touch and she filled that one as well. He kept guard with his crossbow, watching all around them and she stood up, screwing the caps on tight and putting both bottles into the pack before slinging it onto her back.

She looked at him and he looked at her but neither said a word. She looked away first, pursing her lips together, feeling how dry and cracked they were. She felt her heart drumming in her chest and she scolded at herself to stop it. Stop all of this. All of this was stupid. _She_ was being stupid. She glanced back to Daryl but saw that he was no longer looking at her. Instead, something on the ground had his attention.

"What?" She asked softly before she could stop herself.

Daryl didn't look at her. He just shook his head and approached a nearby tree. Beth hesitated then took a couple of steps after him before stopping herself. Not too close, she reminded herself. She nervously tugged on the straps of her pack as she watched him crouch down at something. Exhaling a soft breath, she walked to him so she could get a closer look.

"What is that?" She asked, still speaking softly, not wanting to annoy him further. She normally could handle Daryl when he was in a pissy mood but lately, every inch of her just felt too exhausted to handle much of anything.

"'s a snare," he said and then turned his head, looking up at her. "For trappin' animals."

His words nearly had her reeling back a step. "Do you think whoever set the snare is still around?" She asked though she knew he couldn't possibly know that.

He looked at it for another minute more before he stood up, one of his knees cracking. He held the crossbow a little tighter. "Think we should wait and see."

"What?" She couldn't help but look at him with slightly wide eyes.

He looked around at their surroundings. "There," he cocked his head towards a few large bushes they could crouch themselves within. "We wait there for them. It looks like the kind of snare I once taught Rick how to make."

That made Beth gasp. "Rick?" She whispered the name as if saying it any louder was blasphemy of some kind. She looked at him with barely veiled surprise and now, a sudden surge of hope. Rick. And if it was Rick, maybe he wasn't alone. Maybe there were others from the prison with him.

Daryl nodded. "Come on." He put a hand on her arm to gently push her along but then as if realizing that he had touched her, his hand dropped as if she was on fire.

She didn't look at him and ignored the slight tingle in her arm from his touch. She moved towards the bushes and dropped onto her knees, crawling within them first. They were five or six bushes, clumped together, a small opening in the middle, and Beth tried to not think about how tight of a fit it would be for both her and Daryl.

She made as much room for him as she could and he crawled in after her, sitting down beside her. Her side was pressed against his and she tried to scoot over even further but there was nowhere to scoot.

"Sorry," she heard herself apologizing quietly.

From the corner of her eye, she saw him turn his head and look at her but she didn't look at him. She stared straight ahead, looking through the leaves to the tree a few feet ahead where the snare laid, waiting for its maker to return.

They sat there for what felt like hours, neither speaking or moving much, and after a while, her mind began to wander. She couldn't help but think of how warm Daryl was. He reminded her of a stray dog her daddy had brought home once. The dog had obviously come from a home previously and had been abandoned. It was housetrained and knew how to play catch and return the ball. Beth had fallen immediately with the dog, a little mutt with golden curly fur and floppy ears and that night, she had the dog sleep with her. He had curled up against her legs and in his little ball, he had given off so much heat, Beth had woken up in the middle of the night, sweating.

Daryl was like that. Sitting on the ground with the air cold that day, she knew she should have been shivering. Instead, his body heat was permeating into hers and she pushed the sleeves of the sweater up her arms. She stretched her legs out in front of her as much as she could before pulling them up, hugging them to her chest. Daryl would look over at her every once in a while but she never looked over to him.

They both heard the snapping of a branch at the same time. Beth immediately stiffened and froze and for the first time, she turned her head and looked at Daryl. He put a finger to his lips as if she was going to burst into song right there and he adjusted the crossbow in his hands.

She listened for the growls and snarls of a walker but she didn't hear anything like that. Instead, she heard a murmur of voices growing closer and she felt her heart hammering in her chest. What if it wasn't Rick? What if it was other people? Dangerous people? What would she and Daryl do?

She couldn't ask Daryl though. They had to remain completely silent and slowly, she put her hands over her mouth because her breathing sounded so loud to her ears right now and she didn't want to be the thing to give them away.

She nearly gasped when a figure walked past the bushes and she could see who it was. Rick! She wanted to shout and run out to him but Daryl, as if reading her mind, clasped his fingers around her arm and she nodded slightly in understanding. They didn't know who he was with yet and Daryl wanted to take further assessment.

"Anything?" A voice asked and Beth saw Carl step into view.

Carl! Carl was alive, too!

And finally, a third figure appeared. Michonne!

Beth felt like whooping for joy and telling Daryl she had told him so. She had told him that there were others alive; that they weren't the only ones to make it out of the prison. She knew it. She had known it all along.

She looked at Daryl and his face, usually blank of any expression, was now in pure shock. He had been so convinced that it was just the two of them and now it was as if he had seen a ghost. Daryl slowly turned his head and looked at her. She gave him a small smile. And _I knew it all along and you shoulder never doubt me_ kind of smile. His own lips began to twitch in response.

"Looks like you won't be stuck with just me anymore," she told him softly, forcing herself to just keep smiling at him, letting him know that she wasn't bothered by it.

His own lips stopped twitching however and the beginning of the smile disappeared completely from his face. Without a word, he pushed himself through the leaves, Rick, Carl and Michonne instantly turning to the noise, weapons drawn. But when they saw that it was Daryl emerging from the bush, they all looked on in shock, none of them making a move. Once she saw Daryl completely free from the bush and standing, Beth crawled forward, pushing herself through and Daryl's hand was there. She hesitated for only a moment before she took it and he grasped it, helping her to her feet. She looked at the trio and now they were looking even more stunned at her appearance.

"Hi," Beth smiled, feeling shy almost although she was so happy and relieved to see three of their family standing just a few feet away from them.

Rick then let out a laugh, clearly in shock. "Hi."

That broke through the spell and they all converged together then. Rick slapped Daryl on the back and Daryl smiled a little at the sight of him. Michonne hugged Beth tightly and then Beth hugged Carl as tightly as she could before he coughed and told her she had to let him breathe. Rick and Beth then looked at one another and he got such a look of sadness in his eyes and she knew he was thinking of her dad.

She shook her head and gave him a small smile, tears in her eyes, and without a word, she went to him, stepping on her toes and putting her arms around his shoulders. "He'd be happy that some of us have found one another again," she whispered.

Rick let out a breath as if he had been holding it and he hugged her tightly in return.

…

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><p>"So, what's the plan now?" Michonne asked as they sat on the side of the road that evening beside a broken down van.<p>

"Beth and me aren't goin' to Terminus," Daryl said, surprising Beth. She hadn't thought of it since their reunion but she supposed she had just assumed that with Rick and Michonne there with them, Daryl would do anything they would do.

Rick looked at him steadily. "We don't even know what it is."

"Exactly," Daryl said, frowning now. "How come all of those people who came to the prison never once mentioned a place named Terminus? If it's so great, don't you think word about it would spread? Beth doesn't want to go and I go where she goes."

Beth kept staring at him. She hadn't thought too much of how it would be once they were reunited with the others. She supposed it would just be as how it was in the prison. They knew each other but didn't really interact and it would be like that again. Daryl would go back to being Rick's right hand man and she would go back to… go back to just being there.

But he was talking to Rick about what _they_ wanted to do; what _they _had planned. He was letting them all know that he and Beth were in this together and she knew they all looked just as surprised as she felt. She had never expected him to still want to keep any promise or word he had made to her. She just assumed it would all be forgotten by him – what they went through and everything they shared.

"I've thought of that, too," Rick nodded his head.

They were all so distracted with the conversation, they never heard them come – not even Daryl who always heard everything.

But suddenly, Rick and Daryl both had guns to their temples. Michonne's hand instantly went to her katana but the man with the gun to Rick's head stopped her.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the man smiled.

There were other men and they grabbed both Carl and Beth from behind, yanking them to their feet. Beth couldn't see the man who had her but his grip was strong, painful, and his breath smelled foul. Her heart was hammering in her chest and she looked to the other men. There were just six of them – the two with the guns, the two who had grabbed her and Carl and two others, standing there, probably awaiting their orders.

She saw Daryl's eyes flash and his jaw clench even from a few feet away with just the moon as light and he started to stand up, his eyes never leaving hers but the man pressed his gun harder against his head. Beth almost winced at the sight. She was dreaming. She had to be. What were these men doing here? What did they want?

The man holding her suddenly leaned his head forward and pressed it to the side of her neck, inhaling her deeply. "Sure been a long time since I've smelled something as pretty as you," he chuckled hotly in her ear.

She felt tears flood her eyes and she clenched them shut, her entire body stiff in his vice-like grip. She felt like throwing up. No, please. No. She heard the clank of a belt buckle being undone behind her and she heard shouting and struggling. She opened her eyes again to see Daryl struggling more and now, Rick was, too. She was almost shaking, too afraid to move, as the man was smelling her neck again.

"Bet you're wet. That one over there your man?" The man asked. "Think he's gonna wanna watch this."

"Take care of this one," the leader said to the other two men standing there. "Make sure he watches his girl get it before you beat him to death."

She wanted to scream out Daryl's name but she couldn't breathe. She heard struggling next to her and looked to see that another man had the same tight grip on Carl, about to do to him what was going to be done to her.

She had to do something. She watched, feeling completely helpless as Daryl was dragged further into the street by the other men. Thinking fast, she brought her boot down on the man's foot as hard as she could. He hissed out a curse and spun her towards him quickly but before she could get a good look at him, he raised the butt of his gun and brought it across her face as hard as he could. Her head exploded in pain and felt the road rushing up to greet her. She heard more shouting but she couldn't tell what was happening before she blacked out.

…

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><p><strong>Thank you very much for reading and please review!<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

…

**Chapter Six.**

Daryl tore through the bathroom, searching for anything that might be useful. He had left them on the side of the road and he had to get back to them as quickly as he could. The house – a shack really – had been nearby and Daryl ripped it apart, his eyes out for one thing and one thing only. He had to find it for her. She was still out cold, lying in the backseat of the van, her face bruised and her cheek with a deep gash that Michonne said they needed to stitch closed.

Rick was in shock, covered in blood, sitting on the ground with his back against the van when Daryl left them, promising to them that he would be right back. He didn't expect a place like this to have anything of use but Daryl kept looking. Beth needed her wound treated or else it might get dirty and infected and then what the hell were they going to do?

His side was throbbing with pain from where they had kicked him a few times and his bottom lip was swollen and split but he could care less about himself right now. Wasn't as if he had never taken a beating before. He tried to focus on the task at hand rather than what had happened back there at the road and what those men were prepared to do. Apparently, Rick had killed one of their own and they wanted their retribution and revenge. They were going to have their way with Beth and Carl and Michonne, too, making him and Rick watch it all before killing them. That was the plan anyway until Rick tore a chunk out of that man's throat with his teeth and they had been able to get the upper hand, killing all of the others.

Beth had been lying crumpled on the ground and he had raced to her, sliding beside her just as he had done when her ankle got caught in that animal trap. She wasn't moving but she was breathing and when he saw her chest rise up and down with each inhale and exhale of air, he felt like he was breathing again, too.

He couldn't shake the image of that man holding her, breathing her in, undoing his belt and the complete and utter fear in her eyes as she looked to him, waiting for him to do something; to save her. Daryl wondered what he would have done if Rick hadn't made the first move because to get Beth safe again, he knew he would have done the exact same thing; and more.

He couldn't believe it but he found a first-aid kit just sitting there in the drawer as if it had been waiting for him the whole time. Daryl flipped the lid open and saw that there was antiseptic, Band-Aids and gauze and stuff for sutures. He slammed the lid shut and practically sprinted outside. He didn't think of how lucky that was and he didn't think of how luck no longer seemed to exist. All he thought of was how what Beth needed right now was in his hand and he was going to get it back to her.

Rick was still sitting on the ground with his back against the van when he burst through the trees. He lifted his eyes and looked at him but Daryl rushed to the van where Michonne was with Carl and he looked to Beth across the back seat.

Michonne shook her head. "Still out. You find anything?"

Daryl nodded, trying to catch his breath, and held up the first-aid kit.

Michonne did her best to smile. "Good work, Dixon. I'll do it."

He didn't argue. He was too out of breath and he could feel his hands shaking. There was no way he would be able to stomach giving Beth stitches. He handed Michonne the kit and then hesitated before he walked away completely. He couldn't even watch her get stitches in her cheek. He knew she needed them, having been the first one to see the gash and knew what had to be done, but he didn't want to think of her face marred by anything.

He went to her back and got one of the bottles water she had just filled that morning and he took out the bandana he always had in his back pocket. He went to Rick and the man lifted his head to look at him, his eyes almost seeming vacant.

"We should save it for drinking," he said, seeing the water.

Daryl shook his head and ignored him, pouring some of the water onto the bandana and holding it out for him to take. "You can't see yourself. He can."

Rick paused for only a moment more before taking the bandana and Daryl lowered himself down, sitting beside him, his back resting against the flat tire of the van. For a few minutes, they didn't say anything as Rick wiped the blood from his face and hands and Daryl stared ahead to the woods across from them. He tried not to think of Beth lying in the van behind him.

"You two get out together?" Rick asked quietly, breaking the silence.

"Yeah," Daryl answered, still not looking at him. "Been just me and her for a while. I told myself that since I couldn't save her dad… I could keep her safe. Done a pretty shitty job of it."

"Hey," Rick said so gently, Daryl couldn't not look at him. He turned his head and looked at him, his face now almost looking pink with the blood being washed away. "What happened to Hershel… and what happened here, it's not on you, Daryl." And Daryl knew he probably looked doubtful because Rick said it again. "It's not. You and Beth being back here with us, it's everything."

Daryl looked down to his knee, to the hole in the fabric of his jeans. He didn't know if he would ever tell him but he had missed Rick so much. Rick was the best friend he had never had; the brother, too. When he had thought Rick hadn't made it from the prison, he honestly didn't know if he would be able to go on. For so long, it had been the two of them. Rick looked over his shoulder and Daryl was always right there.

But Beth had pushed and pushed and refused to let him give up.

And now, here they were. He needed Beth to wake up; to be alright. Because as soon as she was again, he would tell her that she had been right along and he was sorry he didn't believe her much when she was going on and on about hope and faith and all of the things Daryl had thought to be just bullshit.

"You're my brother," Rick then said, rather unexpectedly, and Daryl lifted his head, looking at him and keeping his eyes focused on him. Rick looked at him in return and gave the slightest head nod, letting him know that he knew exactly what he said and meant every word of it.

Daryl wondered if he had spoken his thoughts out loud but he looked at Rick and didn't know what he could say right then. He just looked at Rick and hoped he knew that he felt the exact same way about him. And when Rick nodded his head again, Daryl felt relieved.

"Daryl," Michonne suddenly appeared at the front of the car and both Daryl and Rick's heads whipped around to look at her. "Beth's awake."

Daryl didn't hesitate in pushing himself up to his feet and going around to the side of the van. Carl was still sitting in the first bench seat, staring blankly ahead, not even looking at him as Daryl climbed in. Beth was lying on the back bench seat, her eyes open and when she saw him from the corner of her eye, she turned her head. Daryl never thought he would be relieved to see that faint smile of hers.

"Hey," he said, crouching down beside the seat, next to her head.

"Hey," she whispered back. He looked at the black jarring stitched against her otherwise pale cheek and he felt his stomach roll. She was looking at him, too, and her hand lifted slowly, her thumb brushing along his split bottom lip. He stayed still and stared into her eyes but then as if she remembered what she had said to him and what she wouldn't do, she lowered her hand again. "Sorry," she said, still in a whisper.

Daryl didn't say anything and kept staring at her. He didn't tell her that he didn't really hate her touch and he didn't tell her he was just a dick. She already knew that about him.

"You a'right?" He instead asked her softly.

She closed her eyes and nodded slowly. "I don't remember really what happened?"

"Don't worry about it," he said, relieved she couldn't remember and not wanting her to. "You hurtin'?"

She opened her eyes again and looked at him. She didn't say anything for a moment, just staring at him, and he didn't say anything either, just staring at her in return. Before he could stop himself, he reached a thumb out and brushed it along the bumpy stitches. She still stared at him and still didn't say anything.

"'m sorry," he heard himself say.

"You didn't do anything," she finally said.

"Ain't that the point?" He asked, his thumb falling away from her cheek.

"No, Daryl, that's not what I meant." She started to reach her hand out to touch his face but she stopped herself before she could and it hung there almost awkwardly for a moment before it dropped, resting upon her stomach.

Daryl found himself suddenly wishing she would just forget her promise to him.

"You had absolutely nothing to do with those men attacking us. It's just how this world is now," she said, her eyes steady on him.

And he knew she was right but he didn't like hearing her say things like that. There was just something about Beth Greene living in this shitty world where getting attacked by guys and almost getting raped and being knocked unconscious was a normal occurrence made him feel like shit; like this was all his fault no matter what she said; like it was all his damn fault for the world ending in the first place.

He didn't know what to say about any of this so he didn't say anything and he watched her as she brought her fingertips slowly to her newly-acquired stitches.

"Does it hurt?" He asked her again because she hadn't really answered him the first time he had asked.

She seemed to think it over and then she nodded her head. "A little," she said truthfully but she didn't look at him as she did; almost as if she hadn't wanted to admit that but she had gotten slugged in the face with a gun and needed stitches. Of course she was going to be hurting.

"I'll try and find you some aspirin or somethin'," he told her. "Or some moonshine." He did his best to joke and it seemed to work because her lips moved upwards and seeing her smile, he felt like smiling a little, too. "We're gonna try and move today," he then said. "Once you and Carl are feelin' up to it."

At the mention of the boy – though could Carl really be called that anymore? – Beth's eyes flew to the seat in front of her to look at the back of Carl's head. He was still just sitting there, not moving, and Daryl knew Michonne knew but should he tell Rick?

"Did they…" Beth began to ask but she stopped herself and swallowed as if the words had all lumped in her throat and she couldn't get them out.

"No," Daryl was quick to answer. "Rick…" his own words caught in his throat. He didn't want to tell her what Rick did. "Me, Rick and Michonne were able to kill 'em."

She nodded and didn't say anything for a moment. And then, a quiet "Good" passed through her lips and Daryl stared at her because that didn't sound right – Beth Greene being glad that they had killed men last night. Then again, after what these men had almost done, he supposed it wouldn't be normal if she wasn't glad about them being dead.

She looked at him quietly. "They said they were going to beat you to death."

"'m obviously still here," he pointed out to her.

She smiled a little again. "Last man standing," she whispered.

Again, Daryl felt his hand moving before he could stop himself and his thumb brushed along her stitches. "Bad ass," he then told her softly.

She laughed softly and Daryl swore he had never heard anything better. "Yeah?" She asked, looking at him and there was some brightness in her eyes again.

"Definitely," he gave her a firm head nod and her smile grew a bit more.

"I think I want to try and sit up," she said.

"You shouldn'," he said but moved a bit back so she had a bit more room. "You might feel sick," he warned her. "Just take your time."

He couldn't stop himself again from reaching out and gently taking her elbow as she began to slowly pull herself into a sitting position. She closed her eyes and took deep breathes and he watched her.

"Feel sick?" He asked.

She took a moment to answer. "No," she finally answered. "I'm okay."

She looked at him and then at Carl sitting in front of her. Without a word, she perched on the edge of her seat and leaned forward, her arms sliding around Carl's shoulders from behind, hugging him. Daryl was surprised he didn't stiffen from the contact or maybe he was the only one to do that when Beth touched him. He thought of the way she had hugged Rick yesterday and the way the man had so easily hugged her in return. He wondered what that was like - to be so at ease with human touch.

"I have a strawberry in my pack," she told Carl softly. "And it's the most delicious strawberry left in the world. Would you like it?" She asked him.

Carl didn't speak but he slowly nodded his head and that was good enough for Beth. She smiled faintly and kissed him lightly on the cheek. She then put her lips to Carl's ear and whispered something for him and only him to hear. Whatever words she spoke to him though, they had Carl nodding again.

Beth then pulled back and she looked back to Daryl. He slid himself from the van and then without thinking about it, he held out his hand for her to take. She hesitated as she had hesitated the day before when he was offering to help her climb from those bushes but in the end, she had taken it then as she took it now.

Her hand was cold and her skin was soft and Daryl curled his fingers around it. He helped her ease herself slowly out of the van and even when her feet were firmly on the ground, he didn't let go of her hand. He told himself she needed a few extra minutes to get her balance. Beth looked up at him, not saying anything but the question clear on her face. He didn't say anything because he didn't know the answer. It didn't make any sense to him. And Beth had gotten so damn good at reading him over their time together, she seemed to know he didn't know so she didn't say a word about it. He was just relieved she didn't pull her hand from his.

"You shouldn't be walking yet," Michonne appeared at the side of the van, glancing down to their joined hands but Michonne being Michonne, she didn't say anything about it or even raise an eyebrow.

"I'm okay. I have a strawberry in my pack and I promised it to Carl," Beth said.

At the mention of Carl's name, Michonne looked past them into the van at Carl, her eyes on him for a moment before sliding back to them.

"Sorry they're not the best," Michonne then said, head tilted slightly to her cheek.

Beth smiled faintly. "No, they're fine, thank you for doing that for me." She then laughed a little. "Daryl says they're badass."

Michonne looked to Daryl and smirked a little. She looked back to Beth. "They are pretty bad ass," she smiled and Beth laughed again.

Daryl felt his own lips twitching a little. The sound of her laugh almost made him want to close his eyes so he could just hear that and nothing else and see nothing else to take away from the sound of her laughter. And then he wondered when the hell he had started thinking things like this.

Her hand slowly slipped from his and he looked down at his own, now hanging there limply at his side. Beth moved to the front of the van where she saw her pack still lying where she had placed it last night – before those men came – and Daryl found himself hoping that those strawberries weren't smashed. For both Beth's sake and Carl's. He had stupidly eaten all three of his already and he doubted they would find more anytime soon.

"Is she alright?" Michonne asked and it took Daryl a moment to realize that she was talking to him.

He watched Beth as she first went around the van to say something to Rick and a moment later, she had the man to his feet and he was following her back around to the other side where Michonne and Daryl stood.

"Here," Beth said to Rick and gently taking his hand, she laid a strawberry down in his palm. "You don't have to talk. Sometimes, just sitting and letting him know you're there, that's all a person needs," she told him and Rick looked down at the strawberry before back at her. He then nodded slightly and she gave him a small smile, her hand on his back, offering silent encouragement.

Daryl watched Beth and the easy way in which she touched Rick and talked with him and the way Rick didn't seem to mind in the least with Beth touching him. He watched the way Beth didn't have a sadness in her eyes when she looked to Rick like the way she sometimes looked to Daryl and just looked like she was about to cry.

Daryl watched it all silently as he always was watching everything and he wondered why he had never seen it before. Had it been going on at the prison, too? Why had he never noticed? Beth was sunshine, the light in those grey prison walls, and she had taken care of his daughter. Of course Rick was going to have feelings for the girl. Daryl just hadn't ever thought that Beth would have feelings for him, too.

And Daryl wondered why the hell his stomach was clenching painfully and why he suddenly felt angry as he looked at Beth smiling softly at Rick, her hand still on the man's back.

…

* * *

><p><strong>Daryl is such an idiot but we love him anyway. And there is something about Beth's cheek scar that I just love and I wanted her to have it in this story.<strong>

**Thank you so much for reading and please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

…

**Chapter Seven.**

"You and Daryl get out together?"

The question seemed to come out of nowhere, startling her from her thoughts, and Beth looked to see that Carl had come up beside her and had asked her.

They were able to start walking again after a breakfast of water and berries that Daryl had found in the woods. Wasn't enough by far but it was more than what was in their empty stomachs previously and after Rick looked them all over, he decided it was time to move on. No reason to stay there at that van on the side of the road for a second longer if they didn't have to.

Rick took the lead and Michonne walked with him. Carl lingered behind them with Beth behind him and Daryl brought up the rear of their small band. She noticed immediately that Daryl wasn't speaking with her. Wasn't even looking at her. She told herself that she shouldn't be hurt or surprised. Of course this was how it was going to be now. They had found others. Rick and Michonne. There was no reason for Daryl to talk with her anymore. It wasn't just the two of them anymore and Daryl didn't have any obligation to her anymore – not that he ever had.

_Looks like you won't be stuck with just me anymore. _

And he hadn't said anything in argument to that when she had said that and she wasn't going to allow herself be hurt by that either. Of course Daryl was relieved they had found Rick and Michonne. Those two were just like him. Strong and brave and useful. Beth was nothing more than the dead weight he had had stuck to his back for the past few weeks. Now, with Rick and Michonne there, she was no longer his to look after and keep safe. Someone else could do it now.

She had stupidly thought things had changed between them; had gotten better. She still remembered the way he had looked at her in the kitchen of the funeral home when she asked him what had changed his mind about good people still being left in the world. She had never had anyone stare at her the way he had then. And she knew she hadn't been imagining it. Or… had she? Was it something that never happened but just something she wished it had?

And why on earth would she wish for Daryl to stare at her like that? Like she was the ocean and all he wanted to do was drown in her?

But now, with the others, he wasn't even talking or acknowledging her existence and she walked, feeling his presence behind her, and she knew she had imagined everything she had thought they had shared. None of it had actually mattered as much as she had allowed herself to think. He couldn't even stand her hand to touch any part of him, no matter how brief or how light the touch was.

She remembered Carl's question and looked to him as he walked now beside her. He looked so much older than the last time she saw him.

"Yeah," she nodded. "It's just been me and him for a while."

Carl nodded, too. "Was my dad and me at first and then Michonne found us. At least it's the five of us now."

Beth agreed. "I couldn't feel more safe with anyone else," she said.

Carl was quiet for a few minutes as they walked side-by-side. She was so tempted to look over her should to look at Daryl but she knew he was there. She could sense him. Over the past few weeks, they had become so aware to one another's presence. She wondered if that was a skill that would fade away now that they would be spending less time together. She ignored the heaviness in her chest at the thought.

"What was your favorite food?" Beth heard herself suddenly ask Carl, remembering the game Daryl had started playing with her as a way to distract her from the Maggie signs to Glenn they were passing.

Carl looked at her for a moment and then he smiled a little. "I used to love peanut butter. Now, I can't stand it."

And Beth didn't mean to but she couldn't help but laugh softly. Carl smiled a little more and she saw his shoulders relax a bit.

They went back and forth for a little while. Favorite song? _A Case of You _by Joni Mitchell for her. _Back in Black_ by AC/DC for him. "My dad was a huge AC/DC fan," he explained. Favorite color? _Purple _for her. _Brown_ for him. "Like mud?" She teased. "Like my dad's uniform," he said with a small smile. Favorite movie? _The Dark Knight_ for him. _Singin' in the Rain_ for her.

"Never seen it," Carl shook his head.

"I'm singin' in the rain/just singin' in the rain," she began to sing softly. "What a gorgeous feelin'/I'm happy again/I'm laughin' at clouds/so dark up above/the sun's in my heart/and I'm ready for love/let the stormy clouds chase/everyone from the place/come on with the rain/I've a smile on my face."

She looked and saw Michonne and Rick both glancing over their shoulders back at her, both with small smiles on their faces. She quickly stopped singing and felt herself blushing, laughing a little.

"Sorry," she quickly apologized. "Got carried away there for a moment."

"Never thought I'd hear you sing again," Rick said.

"I shouldn't be doing it," Beth shook her head. "No reason to really sing anymore."

"You sing as much as you want," Rick told her.

And she remembered what Daryl had shouted at her, drunk on moonshine, and later in the funeral home when he had asked her to sing more. She took a deep breath. Was everything from here on out just going to remind her of Daryl?

She dared a look at him from over her shoulder and he was staring right at her. His jaw was clenched but other than that, his face was completely blank.

She looked to Carl. "I'll be right back," she said.

She slowed her steps a little and placed herself beside Daryl. He didn't even look at her and they walked side by side in silence but she could feel the thick tension rolling off of him. She made sure she wasn't walking too close to him, not wanting any part of her to brush against him.

"I've been thinking about that car from the funeral home. Black with a white cross," she told him as if he had forgotten. "Do you think we'll see it again?" She asked.

For a moment, she didn't think he would answer but then he shrugged his shoulders.

"Hadn't really been thinkin' 'bout it," he said, his eyes staring straight ahead.

"Oh," she said softly and she wasn't sure why that stung like it did.

"_I'm not gonna let anyone take you."_

She remembered the words he had said to her that morning after they had left the funeral home and had seen that car and heard those men. She had looked up at him, so completely terrified, and he had looked at her and had basically promised to her that he wouldn't let anything happen to her.

With others again though, it seemed like just something else he had forgotten.

"Go tell Rick 'bout it if you're worried," he said and for the first time, he turned his head and looked at her. She almost wished he hadn't. He looked so angry with her.

Beth stared at him and found herself frowning. "What did I do to you?" She asked. "Why are you so mad at me? I'm sorry I touched your lip in the van. I saw that it was split and it was just a reaction. I didn't mean to. Is that why you're so angry right now?" She almost demanded.

"Don't flatter yourself, Beth," he grunted at her. "Don't care enough to be mad."

Beth stared at him for another moment and she tried to figure out for herself what his problem was because she didn't care what he said or what he claimed. He was definitely angry at her for something. She just couldn't think of anything she had done to him that would warrant this.

"Don't care enough about what?" She dared herself to ask.

"You," he answered instantly and his answer, short and gruff and cold, made her stop walking so abruptly as if she had just walked into a wall.

She hadn't been expecting him to actually say it. She had suspected it but to hear him actually say that he could basically care less about her, after everything they had been through together, she felt the air rush from her lungs in a whoosh.

Daryl stopped then, too, and he looked at her and she looked at him, seeing something in his eyes and his face. She wasn't going to be stupid enough to think he was looking at her with regret or like he was sorry though for what he had said. He didn't lie. She knew he didn't. He always said what he was thinking and if he had said that to her, it was because it was the truth.

"Beth," he started to say her name but she felt a burning in her eyes and she refused to be around him for him to see her shed even one tear over him.

Without saying a word or looking at him again, she walked away from him. She had absolutely no desire to be anywhere near Daryl Dixon for a very, very long time.

…

* * *

><p>That night, they made camp beside a tunnel which the train tracks disappeared into. They had all stood there and all agreed that there was no way they were going to follow the tracks into it. It was pitch black and who the hell knew what was in there or how long the tunnel went on for? Tomorrow, they would go around or over. It wasn't as if they were in any sort of hurry and they had all come too far now to just present themselves to the slaughter.<p>

Beth made the fire, her one skill she supposed, and Daryl was able to hunt down an opossum for them all. As the others sat around the fire and ate and talked – well, Rick, Michonne and Carl talked as she and Daryl sat silently – Beth was not in the mood for food or conversation. After eating just a small bit, she told the others that she was going to try and get some sleep.

"You feeling alright?" Rick asked.

She did her best to give them all a smile, making sure her eyes never went to Daryl. He sat on the other side of the fire though and he wasn't looking at her either, rather looking into the fire, his face far away and blank.

"Yes. My head still hurts a bit though," she admitted, her fingers going to the stitches on her cheek she still wasn't used to.

"Get some rest," Michonne said. "That bottle of Aspirin you had didn't help?"

She shook her head. "It was way too expired," she said. "Hopefully, it will feel better tomorrow after I get some rest."

"We'll start out at first light," Rick said to all of them and there was no argument.

Their camp was small – especially for five people – but they had made sure that they only had enough space that they could put their "noisemakers" around. Beth settled herself near the edge of one side of their square and laid down, using her pack as a pillow and putting her back to them all. She didn't even close her eyes though. She couldn't. There wasn't an inch of her body ready to go to sleep. Her mind was racing and she wished it would just stop and be quiet because what it was thinking about, she would much rather forget it as soon as she could.

Why had Daryl said that? He obviously told her what was on his mind. He didn't care about her and she had just been a fool to think that he had.

But there had been so much to show her that maybe, he had started to. The piggyback ride and placing those flowers on that grave for her and carrying her into that kitchen. He hadn't had to do that but he had grumbled that she was moving too slow and the next thing she knew, he had swept her up in his arms. She had laughed and blushed and for a moment, with him, she had forgotten that the world outside had ever ended.

And the way he stared at her…

She hadn't imagined it. There was no way she could have imagined all of that.

She squeezed her eyes shut when she felt a fresh round of tears beginning to burn. Behind her, she could hear the others getting themselves ready for sleep, Daryl's low voice volunteering for first watch. She wasn't sure how much time had passed and every time she sniffled, she did her best to cover it with a fake cough so the others couldn't hear. So_ he _couldn't hear. Not that he would care if he did.

And it wasn't as if she wanted to be crying over him. She was just lonely. She tried to keep reminding herself of that. She was just lonely. She had absolutely no one in this world and she had fooled herself into thinking that Daryl was the only one left. That wasn't true and even if it was, she still wouldn't have him.

She was completely inconsequential to him.

And she refused to let herself feel sad about that.

When the fire was dying down and the soft snores came from the others as they slept, Beth sat up. She didn't care that Daryl was still awake. She really had to pee and Daryl Dixon could go to hell if he thought she would hold it just because of him.

She stood up, wiping at her cheeks with her sweater sleeves, and grabbed her knife from where she had stabbed it into the ground beside her, yanking it out. She turned her head and saw Daryl sitting up across their camp, his eyes watching her. She looked away as if she hadn't seen him at all and carefully, she stepped over the string so she didn't jerk the cans and wake the others.

She didn't wander far – she could still keep an eye on the camp – as she squatted against a tree, relieving herself. When she stood up, zipping and buttoning her jeans again, she stayed there for another moment, breathing in and out slowly, focusing on her breathing and nothing else for the time being.

She felt so much anger and hurt towards Daryl but she felt angry at herself, too. She can't believe she ever allowed herself to think so many of things she had thought. She really was just some little kid everyone always treated her as. On the list of people Daryl Dixon actually cared about who were still in this world, she didn't even make the damn list and her chest had no reason to twist painfully about it. She told herself it was her own fault – reading too much into situations that she had probably imagined being much more than they ever had been.

With one more final breath, she came out from behind the tree and nearly jumped back a step when she saw Daryl standing just a few feet away, crossbow in his arms, obviously keeping watch for her when she had gone to the bathroom.

He looked at her but she didn't even turn her eyes a fraction of an inch towards him as she strode past, heading back towards their camp.

"Beth," he said her name again in a quiet voice but he was sorely mistaken if he thought she would actually stop and listen to anything he had to say to her. He had already said way too much and she was definitely done talking with him. "Beth," he said her name again and then she felt his fingers on her elbow, stopping her from walking any further. She immediately jerked her arm from his grasp and spun around to face him, hoping the fury on her face was plain enough to see even in the near pitch-black darkness of the woods around them.

She didn't tell him to not touch her again. She had just made that abundantly clear for even him to get through his incredibly thick skull.

He looked down to the ground as he spoke. "'bout what I said earlier…" he trailed off then and it was obvious to her that he had no idea what to say.

She could only imagine what he _wanted_ to say.

"I don't need to hear anything else," she shook her head rapidly. She then stared at him until he finally slowly lifted his head and had his eyes lock with hers. "You are the cruelest man I have ever met, Daryl Dixon," she said in a quiet yet firm voice and she hoped he wouldn't be able to hear the traces of the hurt; the utter pain.

And with that, she turned and continued walking back towards the camp. She didn't looked back and told herself she didn't care if he was following her back. She was no longer going to care about anything that had to do with him. It was what he wanted and it was what she was going to want, too. She was going to care nothing for him just as he cared nothing for her.

It would be hard in a group of just five but she was determined now. She would never put herself anywhere near him or even look in his direction and she was definitely never going to speak to him again either.

Not even if he was the last man on earth.

…

* * *

><p><strong>I cannot wait to write Daryl's POV in the next chapter. And these five are my favorites so it's going to be just them for a while. Not too eager to write anyone else yet at the moment. Thank you so much for reading and please review!<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

…

**Chapter Eight.**

"_You are the cruelest man I have ever met, Daryl Dixon."_

It definitely wasn't the worst insult someone had ever said to him but he couldn't remember any other one that had stung him as much as her words to him had. And he deserved that sting. Deserved it all. He actually deserved so much worse.

He knew he had no one to blame but himself either for everything. As soon as he had said to her that he didn't care about her, he wanted to shoot himself with his crossbow. And he knew he wouldn't be forgetting the absolutely wounded look in her too-big eyes from his answer anytime soon. It had been bullshit and he tried to tell her that, try to take that one word back, but he wasn't able to say anything and even if he could, Beth had no interest in listening to him. And who the hell could blame her for being hurt and pissed and wanting nothing to do with him?

They set out in the morning just as Rick had planned for them to do and began to walk alongside the tunnel rather than through it. What the hell kind of moron would walk _through_ a tunnel in this new kind of world? Whoever did deserved to get themselves eaten up.

Rick walked in front as always and Carl and Michonne walked behind him. Beth walked behind them and Daryl walked at the rear as he always did, keeping an eye out for the four in front of him but really watching her and focusing on her. She hadn't looked at him once that morning. Her eyes just seemed to float over him as if he wasn't even there and he had watched as she spoke with the others, smiling with them, sharing a quiet laugh with Rick over something.

Daryl had clenched his jaw at that before turning his head away.

He thought of the way she had been singing yesterday, some song about rain, and Rick had looked back to smile at her and told her she could sing whenever she wanted. He then thought of that night in the funeral home when he had been watching her play the piano and then he had laid in that casket, listening to her sing her soft songs surrounded by candle light and he knew that something had definitely shifted between them. Beth being asked to sing was their thing. Rick didn't have the right to ask her to do it, too.

Right. He nearly snorted. He was an idiot. Beth wasn't a thing. She was a girl. A damn woman. And she loved to sing and he wasn't the only one who liked listening to her. She could sing for whoever she damn well pleased.

He knew she would never sing for him again.

"_You are the cruelest man I have ever met, Daryl Dixon."_

She had damn neared been raped a couple nights ago but she had still said that to him. And he knew why. He got that. Those men, they had been bad men and were definitely acting according to that. But him, she had trusted him just as he had grown to trust her. They had been through so many things together – just the two of them – and they relied on one another. And he had hurt her. Purposely said something to her that hurt her and with that one word – _you _– everything that had been built up between them had been knocked down with one go.

Daryl didn't know what to do. He wanted to do something; knew he had to do something but he had absolutely no idea what that was. She was done with him. He had seen it in her eyes the night before when she had stared at him after going to the bathroom. She had been furious at him but she had also been so hurt and what the hell did he know about fixing something like that? He had never been in this kind of situation before. Beth really was the first girl he had found himself liking. He had never felt it before but he assumed feeling like his gut was twisting itself into pretzel knots every time she was near was a good enough indication of what was going on.

He liked her – at least he think he did.

And to her now, he didn't even exist.

Beth had stopped walking and Daryl found himself closing the space between them.

"You okay?" He asked gruffly.

He didn't expect her to answer and she didn't. She had pulled her pack around to her front and reaching into the front pocket, she pulled out the final strawberry. She stood there for a moment, eating it, and he couldn't help but watch her. He thought of the way her thumb had brushed across his chin that night he had been eating his, gently swiping away some juice that had clung there. Her touch was soft and gentle and he wasn't used to being touched like he was something to be handled with care. But that was just who Beth was. She had treated him like he was something.

She finished the strawberry and returned the pack to her back and began walking again, not even looking at him.

He resumed trudging behind her, everything feeling heavy. He had definitely fucked up in grand Dixon style just in case there was any doubt. And why? Because she had smiled at Rick and touched Rick and the man had smiled in return? Beth smiled at everyone and touched everyone and who the hell wouldn't smile at her in return? Who the hell wouldn't smile when the sun was shining just on them?

He looked to the ground and saw familiar tracks through the leaves. He gave a sharp whistle and Rick instantly stopped, turning around towards him. The others stopped as well but Beth was the only one who didn't look at him. She looked down to the ground and he knew she could see the tracks, too.

Rick came to him. "Want to track it?" He asked.

Daryl nodded. "Tracks are clear. Fresh. Passed through here not too long ago."

Rick nodded as well. "We'll take a break and rest here."

"Can Beth come with me?" Daryl heard himself asking before he could really stop and think about the question. Beth had overheard and her head whipped to him, her eyes finally settling on him. He looked to Rick as the man looked to him curiously, obviously waiting for a further explanation. "I was teachin' her how to do all this stuff when it was just the two of us. Figured there was no harm in still teachin' her."

Rick nodded again and looked back to Beth. Daryl looked at her, too, and he felt like he was maybe holding his breath because he had absolutely no idea what she was going to do. If she could spit in his face right now, she probably would. She just stared at him and Daryl wondered how she was able to do that; how she could stare at him with such a blank look as if she had never seen him before. It would almost be impressive if it didn't sting so damn much.

But he reminded himself that he couldn't blame her. How could he blame her for anything? She hadn't done anything. She had just been Beth this whole time, in everything she did, and he had lashed out because of it.

He was glad and relieved to find Rick, Michonne and Carl and for the five of them to be together again but deep down, a part of him was aware of the thought that kept pricking him like a red hot needle over and over again. A part of him was wishing it was just him and Beth again. Just the two of them out here making it on their own. Yes, there had been some problems and tension but they were making it work and it had been good.

Maybe it made him selfish but he liked having something like her to himself. He had never had something that had been completely his. His and his alone. There had only ever been his crossbow but everything beside that had always been someone else's, too. Usually, Merle's. He had never had anything for himself.

And being with Beth out here, just the two of them, staying alive together and relying on one another and opening up to one another, it had been something shared with her that he didn't have to share with anyone else. These past weeks with Beth, it had belonged to just him and her and no one else.

He expected her to refuse to come with him and he exhaled a deep breath, shifting his crossbow, ready to turn and start following the tracks. Without a word, Beth took steps towards him and he knew he had surprise in his eyes. She wasn't looking at him again though and he looked back to Rick, who was watching the whole thing with curiosity in his eyes. Daryl knew the man wanted to ask about what was going on because it was obvious to all of them that _something _was going on but it wasn't as if Daryl had the first clue as to what it was to even begin to explain it.

How could he tell Rick, this man who was his brother, that he was pissed off and said something really awful to Beth just because he was jealous and convinced that Beth and Rick were in love with one another? That would only lead to more questions; questions Daryl sure as shit didn't have any answers to.

Daryl gave Rick a slight head nod and then stepped off from their path further into the woods, looking down to the tracks the deer had been making, and he heard Beth behind him. He felt his pulse quicken but on the outside, he made it sure as if he was doing nothing but his usual tracking.

He still wasn't used to this. He would never get used to. The quickened heartbeat, the sweaty palms. Beth Greene mixed everything up in his head and he hated it.

The trail went faint but he never lost sight of it as he kept following it. And as he tracked, he was very aware of Beth being behind him the entire time. She didn't make a sound and her steps were quiet but not quiet enough for him not to hear.

His fingers tightened around the crossbow. He wanted to say something to her but he had never known what to say to her when she didn't hate him and now that she did, he was even more clueless. What could he say to a person who hated him? Who he had purposely gone of his way to hurt?

He ground his jaw together tightly and tried to just forget everything about Beth that second and focus only on hunting this damn deer. There were more important things to deal with right now then stupid little feelings towards a girl like Beth. If the world hadn't ended, he sure as hell wouldn't have deserved a girl like her and it didn't matter the world _had_ ended. He still didn't deserve a girl like her. She needed a guy who wouldn't growl at her or flinch every damn time her hand got too close to him or a guy who didn't tell her that he could care less about her.

Even if she didn't have feelings for Rick, Rick was still the kind of guy she needed and he was definitely the kind of guy who deserved someone like her.

The trees were beginning to thin out and up ahead, he could see that there was a road ahead. He glanced back to see that Beth was still behind him. He jerked his head and expected her to ignore him but instead, she took a few hurried steps so she was by his side. They stopped walking and remained within the trees, both staring at the road as if they had never seen one before.

"What are we waiting for?" She asked and his eyes flew to her, surprised she had spoke at all to him. He thought she was going to give him the silent treatment until he died. And he wouldn't argued against it either. He deserved nothing less.

"Listenin'," he said and she looked up at him.

He stared down at her and for a second, he could pretend that it was just the two of them again and he had been a jackass, yeah, but he was like that a lot of the time and Beth had gotten pretty good at dealing with him when he was in one of those moods.

But he stared at her and could still see the hurt in her eyes after he had said that to her, that he didn't care about her, and he knew he would never be able to forget it.

She looked away first and didn't say anything else. She began to walk from the trees and step onto the road but off in the distance, his sharp hearing could hear it and without giving it a second thought, his hand shot out, grabbing hold of her pack and he pulled her back. She opened her mouth to protest but he held her against him tight and slapped a hand over her mouth. He heard her surprise muffled by his hand but she didn't struggle to be let go. They both knew that he did this for a reason.

And seconds later, a car came racing up the street right in front of them and they both got a glimpse of the back window before it sped off and disappeared again.

Black car. White cross.

Just like the car at the funeral home.

Daryl didn't know how long they stood there, Beth's back pressed against his front, but slowly, he remembered to pull his hand from her mouth. She was breathing rapidly, heavily, and she didn't step away from the instant she had the chance to. Instead, she stood right where she was and Daryl's hand hung there, not sure what to do. He knew what he wanted to do but he had absolutely no right. And knowing he couldn't touch her, his hand finally fell to hang at his side.

He listened to her breathe and he swallowed, unsure and nervous. "Beth," he said her name in a quiet voice.

That seemed to snap her from whatever she had been trapped in and she took a few steps away from him. He ignored the coolness from her no longer against him and he watched her as she spun around to look at him.

"I can't avoid roads for the rest of my life, Daryl," she told him.

"Yeah, but for right now, that's exactly what you gotta do," he told her. She glared at him and he knew she wanted to argue with him but just as she opened her mouth to do just that, he stopped her and spoke fire. "I'm not gonna let anything happen to you," he said.

She snorted. "Bullshit. You don't care about me, Daryl. Remember?" She said and her voice had so much anger but he heard something else past it. Something she was trying to hide from him and probably hoping he couldn't hear. "I'm honestly surprised you didn't push me out into the road when you heard that car coming."

Daryl's eyes turned into a glare. "You really think I would do that?"

"Who the hell knows what you would do? You've _told_ me, using your own words. You don't care about me. So why would you care if anyone came and took me? You wouldn't care. You wouldn't try to stop them. You wouldn't try to find me if I was gone." Her voice grew harder with each sentence and accusation. "You have others back now. You don't need me anymore. You never needed me. I've always just been another dead girl to you."

He stared at her and he tried to think of a response but he really didn't know what to say. There were a million things he could say and had to say and yet, none of the words seemed to be forming both in his mind and on his tongue.

And not for the first time, he felt himself cursing his inability to speak whenever he was around Beth Greene.

He looked at her and even though there was fury on her face, he saw tears glassing in her eyes, brimming, ready to fall. Daryl couldn't handle that. If she wanted to scream at him, she could go right ahead but crying was beyond his realm of knowledge and his stomach twisted at the thought that he was the one to make her start crying. He'd rather she take this crossbow and fire a bolt at him.

"Beth," he was finally able to say something but past her name, he had nothing.

Beth stared at him and then she looked away for only a moment to wipe at her cheeks though none of the tears had fallen. She looked back to him. "I think we need to go our own ways," she said.

Daryl nearly wanted to bark with laughter at the suggestion but he just clenched his jaw. "You're out of your fuckin' mind," he bit out.

"Rick has mentioned more than once about going to Terminus and we both know you will go wherever Rick wants to go," she said.

"And I already told him I'm goin' where you go," he frowned heavily at her.

She shook her head though. "That was before though. Something changed since then. Between us. I don't know what happened but it's like you can't stand the sight of me anymore and maybe I don't want to be around you either anymore. So you go to Terminus with Rick and I'll go the other way. Maybe I'll find other people. You've taught me enough. I can make it for as long as I can."

"Shut up," he all but growled at her. "I'm not lettin' you out of my sight, girl."

"You have no say in what I do, Daryl Dixon. I'm not…" she sputtered with the words and then shook her head quickly. "I'm not yours!" She then snapped.

Daryl couldn't take it. "Well, maybe you should be!" He snapped back.

Unable to believe that he had just said that, his mouth clamped shut and he quickly lowered his eyes to the ground, feeling the back of his neck burst into flames, but not before he saw Beth's own mouth snap shut as she stared at him with wide eyes.

…

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><p><strong>Thank you so much for the support this story has been getting. And thank you so much for reading this chapter and please review!<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**To be honest, this isn't my favorite chapter. It didn't turn out the way I wanted no matter how hard I tried to get it to work. I hope some of you like it nonetheless. **

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><p>…<p>

**Chapter Nine.**

Daryl Dixon had made her completely speechless. She stood there, her mouth slightly hanging open, and her eyes were staring at him as he became suddenly very interested in the ground he stood on. What had… what did he… what did he _mean_? She tried to ask him, to demand an answer from him, but she wasn't able to speak.

One minute, they had been fighting and she had been all but yelling at him and then he had said… that. Maybe she should be? What did he mean? Did he want her? Well, he had a very strange way of showing it. No, there was no way he wanted her like that. When he said she should be his, he just meant… what else could he have meant by saying that? Her head was beginning to hurt that had nothing to do with being smacked with a gun. She definitely recognized the signs of a Daryl Dixon migraine.

She opened her mouth but all possible words clumped in her throat and she hardly breathe, let alone speak. And she knew Daryl wasn't going to say anything. He was probably never going to speak again after saying such a thing to her. The silence hung thickly between them and she began to wonder if she had actually imagined him saying that to her. She must have because there was no way he would say such a thing to her. He didn't want her. He didn't even like her.

She watched as Daryl then lifted his head, his eyes only meeting her for a moment before he flicked them away. He cleared his throat and held onto his crossbow tightly as if he was able to draw strength from it.

"Lost the tracks," he said. "We should head back."

With that, he turned and began heading back in the way they had come. Beth stood there for a moment, her mind still reeling. _Maybe you should be! _His exclamation played over and over again in her mind and all she wanted to do was grab him and demand he tell her something more.

She followed after him, staring at his backside. She willed him to turn around and look at her and talk with her but she knew it would never happen. She was so prepared to spend the rest of her life being furious with him and never speaking with him again but now, she wanted them to talk more than anything.

Her heart was thumping in her chest and she felt a clenching in her stomach. Why did he say that? And why was he now acting like nothing at all had been said? Because that was what Daryl did. He avoided anything that made him uncomfortable. She knew that. Over the past few weeks, she knew she knew Daryl Dixon better than anyone. Probably even better than Rick and maybe even Merle if his older brother was still alive. She may have not understood him but she knew him and she knew that if she left it up to him, they would never talk about this again.

But he couldn't just say something like that and _not_ say anything else about it even though she knew that that was exactly what he wanted to do and was planning to do. They would never talk about this and it would just drop between them and nothing would ever come of it.

She thought of how just a few days ago, when it still had been just the two of them, she had thought that nothing would ever cause her to leave him. She had thought that they trusted one another and relied on one another and she could admit to herself that she had a small crush on him, slowly budding into a greater one.

But then he had made sure she knew that there was nothing between them. He didn't care about her. She thought of his words and still felt the sting in her chest.

_You_.

With everything that had happened to them and with everything they had gone through together, he didn't care for her at all.

Right? That was what he said. He actually looked her in the eye and told her he didn't care about her. Only to have him hours later tell her that she should be his. Which was the truth? Which one did he really mean?

She stared at his backside, almost glaring now.

Making up her mind, she stomped to him, closing the space between them, and she grabbed his arm. She caught him by surprise when she was able to yank him enough for him to stop and she could put herself in front of him.

"You are not going to do this," she informed him with a hard matter-of-factly tone.

He just stared at her, surprise in his eyes for a moment before they hardened over and his jaw tightened as he glared at her.

"You are not going to say something like that to me and then just walk away," she planted herself firmly in front of him and poked him in the chest. His glare towards her intensified. "We are going to stand right here and talk about this."

"There ain't nothin' to talk about," he practically growled and then he easily side-stepped her and continued walking.

Beth turned and watching him walk away but she remained standing there. She wanted to storm after him and demand they talk about this but she watched him walk away. She felt a fire burning in the pit of her stomach and a scratch clawing at her throat. Why did she always have to be the one to yell at him and get him to open up? Why did she have to be the one to fight with him to feel something or say something? This time, she told herself that it wasn't her turn. He was the one who said it. And he was the one walking away.

If he wanted her, he could actually tell her or at least act like he did.

Daryl finally realized she wasn't walking behind him and he turned to look at her. She stood where she was and looked at him, having no idea what he was going to do. A part of her honestly expected him to just turn around again and walk away. She told herself that what he had said, he didn't mean it. It had been said in the heat of the moment. When he had said he didn't care about her, that had been the truth.

Right?

She had no idea what to think and her head was pounding. Too much had happened over the past few days. Seeing her sister abandon her and write her off as dead. Some men in a car being after her. Almost being raped by another group of men. Getting stitches in her cheek, forever changing her face. Admitting she had feelings for Daryl only to be crushed by his words when he shot her down only for him to tell her the opposite just hours later. Too much and it was making everything spin.

He took slow steps towards her as if he was tracking one of his deer and approaching it, not wanting to startle it away. Beth stood there, not moving, watching him and she almost felt like she was holding her breath. She looked at him and when it was just the two of them, she had thought that he was the only person left in this world that she had. And even now, with Rick, Michonne and Carl…

He was the only one she had left.

Daryl came to a stop in front of her. He stood there and stared at her and didn't say anything and she tilted her head up to look at him. He lifted his hand then, his eyes locked with hers, and she knew she definitely wasn't breathing now when his thumb slowly swiped across the stitches on her cheek.

"Daryl," she whispered his name.

His hand fell from her cheek and he shook his head slightly, slinging the strap of the crossbow onto his shoulder. "Don't know what you want from me," he muttered.

"I want you to give a crap about something," she told him quietly.

He stared at her and minutes passed. She knew because she counted each second. She stared up into his eyes and he stared down into hers and he lifted his hand again. This time it slipped to the back of her head.

"You don't want this, Beth," he told her in a firm, quiet voice.

"You don't know what I want," she argued softly.

"Do you?" He questioned back.

She stared up at him and didn't say anything for another passing minute. It was a question with only one answer and she knew she would have to give it to him. She knew that with him, she would always have to make the first move. He was always the sort to be so careful. He didn't just rush into things. His brother might have been the sort but never him. He always hung back and looked at every possible scenario. It was the hunter in him.

"Do you think we would have ever met?" She asked him suddenly. "If none of this had happened and I was still on my daddy's farm and you were doing what you did, do you think we would have met?"

"If we did, your ol' man would have chased me off that farm with a shotgun," he smirked a little and she smiled, seeing that he was a fraction more relaxed at the turn in their conversation. "You would still be a cheerleader, datin' Jimmy the golden boy," he said.

She wasn't sure why but she giggled a little. "Jimmy wasn't a golden boy and I wasn't a cheerleader."

"What were you? I bet you were somethin'."

She felt her cheeks warm. "I was in the drama club. I was always in the spring musicals," she said.

"Lead?"

She nodded and the corner of his lips twitched, his eyes sparking. "Only sophomore in the school's history to get the lead. My mom and daddy were so proud. They came to every show."

"Sing me somethin' from it," he grunted a request.

She smiled, her cheeks still flushed. "If I loved you," she began softly, her eyes never leaving his. "Words wouldn't come in an easy way/Round in circles, I'd go/Longing to tell you/but afraid and shy/I'd let my golden chances pass me by/Soon you'd leave me/off you would go in the midst of day/never, never to know/how I loved you/if I loved you."

The last note softly faded between them and she saw the way he was looking at her. It was the same look he had given her that night in the funeral home, as they sat in the kitchen surrounded by candles and she writing a thank-you note. He had stared at her with such intensity in his eyes, they had looked almost black. He had looked like he wanted to grab her and push her away all at the same time.

Her heart stopped in mid-beat at the look. When he had first given it to her, she had stared at him and had been so unsure of what to do. _Oh_. She had had no idea what to do or what to say and all she had been able to do was say that one word. It had scared her and excited her and it had made her feel alive.

And seeing it again on his face and in his eyes, her heart began drumming so fast, she was certain both of them could hear it.

"Beth," he then said her name so soft and so deep, it nearly made her shiver.

The hand slipped to the back of her neck again and Beth stopped breathing. His face moved closer and she could feel the soft warm exhale of his breath on her face. Her eyes began to flutter closed and she nearly gasped when she felt the first touch of his lips. He brushed them across hers as if he was unsure; as if he was trying to figure out how he should kiss her.

She nearly fainted at the feeling. Daryl Dixon had made the first move.

His lips brushed across hers again but it was still so hesitant. Beth knew she would have to take the lead. She just hoped Daryl followed.

She stood on her toes and slipped her arms around his neck. She stepped in closer, her chest pressed to his, and she pushed her lips a bit harder against his. She kissed him with more pressure and pleaded silently with him to kiss her back. And when he did, when she felt his arms slide over her hips, fingertips on her back, his lips moving against hers and his facial hair scratching her face, she nearly sobbed with relief. Just hours ago, she was ready to tear his head off. Now, she never wanted him to stop kissing her.

She wasn't sure how long they stood there, kissing, but when he slowly pulled his lips away, she felt dizzy and breathless. She slowly opened her eyes to find that he was already staring at her, his eyes just as dark and intense as ever.

He suddenly looked past her and then he was pushing her away, grabbing his crossbow and aiming, firing the bolt. She turned her head and saw that he had shot an approaching walker in the head, dropping it just a few feet from where they stood. She smiled a little and looked back up at him.

"Well, if that doesn't ruin the mood…" she trailed off, teasing, and Daryl looked at her. After a moment, he smirked, too.

He stepped away to go and collect the bolt from the walker's head and after loading the crossbow again, he looked at her. He jerked his head to the side and she nodded. Without a word, they began walking back through the woods and she wanted to talk to him about the kiss but at the same time, she didn't want to be the one to mention it. Or maybe they didn't have to talk about it. Maybe it was just one of those things that had happened. She wanted it to happen again. She could still feel her lips tingling and her heart was drumming and she felt like just bursting into song.

Suddenly, all of those romantic movies she used to watch made sense to her; the women laughing and practically squealing after they had been kissed. She had never had a kiss like that in her still young life. It was a kiss from a man. Hungry and hard and Daryl had kissed her as if she was water and he had just returned from the desert. He had kissed her as if he wanted her. He hadn't been able to fake that.

They stepped from the trees to where they had left the others and they were still there. Rick stood up and looked them over.

"Everything alright?" He asked.

Daryl cleared his throat. "Yeah. Lost it," he said. "Sorry," he then added.

"It's not a big deal," Rick shrugged. "We'll find something else along the way."

"And what way are we going?" Daryl asked.

Beth looked at Rick. Carl, Michonne and Daryl looked at him, too. And Rick looked at all of them. He seemed to hesitate before answering.

"We need a place to just rest at for a while. None of us have had that since the prison. We go to Terminus. Just for a few days," Rick said.

Beth exhaled a soft breath and looked down to the ground. She should have been expecting it and yet, she felt her stomach sink nonetheless. She had told Daryl that she wasn't going to Terminus and she meant it. She also had meant that if they were going there, she would go her own way. She had absolutely no desire to go there. But now, she and Daryl had kissed and was she able to really just walk away from him after that? Would he let her walk one way while he went with Rick in the other?

"Yeah," Daryl said and Beth felt something else within her sink completely.

This was it. She should have known she didn't stand a chance against Rick no matter how Daryl had just kissed her.

"If you're goin' to Terminus," Daryl continued. "Beth and me aren't goin' with you."

…

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><p><strong>Thank you very much for reading and please review!<strong>


	10. Chapter 10

**Sometimes, I really hate writing alternating POV chapters like this because so much of what I want to say and ****explain, I always have to wait until the next POV. **

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><p>…<p>

**Chapter Ten.**

They came across a dirt road sometime in the late afternoon and they decided to see if anything was down the path that might be useful. Rick led the way and Michonne walked beside him, the two of them whispering back and forth and Daryl could only guess that they were talking about him. It would be weird if they weren't.

Carl walked next in their group and Beth walked beside him. He had expected her to walk beside him but it seemed like after their kiss, she was giving him distance as if assuming he either needed it or wanted it. Maybe he did and maybe he didn't but all he knew was that he was disappointed she didn't walk next to him. He supposed he could always ask her to walk beside him. He had gotten used to always walking close to her that now, he almost found himself getting jealous of Carl for getting Beth's company and not him.

Maybe it was good they weren't walking together. It gave him some time to think over what had happened between them in the woods. He had been more than prepared to pretend that nothing had happened. When he had told her that maybe she should be his, he had felt like swallowing his own tongue. But Beth wasn't going to let it drop no matter how much he wanted to. She practically pleaded with him to say something and he had stood in front of her and he knew this was one time where he couldn't just push whatever it was under the rug and pretended nothing had happened. Too much had happened to just ignore it.

He liked Beth and he wanted Beth in a way he had never really wanted a woman before and the way she was looking up at him, he could almost believe that maybe, this could work out.

As they walked, he found himself watching the gentle sway of her hair and he could still taste the faintness of strawberries on his lips from hers. He shouldn't have been surprised that Beth tasted so damn good. He was tempted to lick at his lips now and he wondered if they would kiss again. He wondered what she would do if he kissed her. He wasn't an expert at things like this. Hell, he knew absolutely nothing about things like this but if he and Beth had already kissed and it was a kiss that Beth had wanted, she would probably want another kiss. Right? Daryl found himself frowning. He was reminded why he had always avoided things like this. It all was confusing as hell.

Rick let out a sharp whistle then and Daryl hurried to the front to where he was. Rick looked at him and pointed at a small ramshackle house barely visible through the trees. Daryl nodded, getting his crossbow aimed in his arms.

The group of five moved quietly through the trees towards the house, all of their eyes on the sharp lookout, their different forms of weapons out and ready to be used if necessary. They did a sweep out of the outside perimeter and Daryl held his breath as they went inside. It wasn't clean though. No one had been there for a very long time. There were two walkers in the kitchen, just standing there as if they were expecting company, and they were easily taken down, Michonne and Carl tossing their bodies outside.

The house was small with a bedroom upstairs and once Rick made the decision that they would stay there for the night, it all seemed to be agreed silently upon that Beth would get the bedroom.

"I don't need a bedroom to myself," Beth shook her head in protest. "I can just stay down here with you." She said it to all of them but her eyes were only on Daryl as she said it.

"Your head is still hurting," Michonne pointed out to her. "Getting some sleep in an actual bed will help. Who knows when any of us will see a bed again."

It was obvious Beth wanted to argue more but it was also obvious that this was nonnegotiable. She sighed softly and still holding her knife out, she headed up the stairs to further explore the bedroom and to see if anything could be useful for them to take with them. Daryl found his eyes following her and then Rick seemed to appear out of nowhere, standing beside him.

"Want to sleep up there with her tonight?" He asked.

Daryl's eyes immediately cut over to him, hardly believing that he had just said that, and Rick seemed to realize what he had just said. He looked embarrassed for a moment, letting out a huff of soft laughter, and he shook his head at both of them.

"I just meant… you don't really like her out of your sight," he pointed out to him.

Daryl couldn't argue that so he didn't. He shook his head slightly. "Just tryin' to keep her safe," he said and Rick nodded knowingly. "You really goin' to Terminus?" He asked, looking at him.

Rick met his eyes. "You and Beth really not going?" He asked back.

He didn't have to think about it. Daryl shook his head. "I made a promise to her. She doesn't want to go. But I don't want to go either. Doesn't feel right to me."

Rick was quiet for a moment. "I need to get Carl somewhere safe," he said in a soft voice.

Daryl nodded. He got that. He did. He just didn't think Terminus was that safe place. He knew Rick wanted to keep his son alive but Daryl thought that one goal was clouding his otherwise sharp judgment.

"I don't want us to split up again," Rick said. "Not when the five of us just found each other."

Daryl looked back towards the stairs though Beth had disappeared upstairs minutes ago and he could hear her soft movements above in the bedroom. "Beth and me aren't going," he then said, his voice soft yet firm. "We'll walk with you there but we're not going in."

Rick looked like he wanted to talk about this more but he seemed to know that there wouldn't be a point. Daryl didn't see himself budging on this. Not unless Beth changed her mind. Beth was really the one Rick should be talking to right now.

Once it was agreed that Michonne would take the first watch, Daryl found himself climbing the stairs to the second floor. He told himself that it was because he had gotten used to always having her nearby and even if he knew she was just one floor over his head, he still needed to see her and make sure that she was there.

The bedroom was lofted and when he stepped onto the last step, his eyes swept around the room and he spotted her kneeling on the floor in front of the open closet door. His steps were quiet but the wooden floorboard creaked beneath him, giving him away, and she turned her head to look at him. She gave a faint smile when she saw that it was him and he felt the corner of his mouth lifting in response.

"What's that?" He asked, referring to the book in her lap. He slowly lowered himself down onto the floor beside her, resting his back against the bed.

"I found it on the floor. I think they were thinking of taking it with them but it got left behind at the last moment," she said and sat beside him, their shoulders and arms touching. She brought her knees up so she could rest the book against her thighs and he saw that it was a leather-bound photo album. She opened it to the first page and he saw a couple on their wedding day, the man in a black tuxedo and the woman in a white dress and they were posing in front of a fountain. "I wonder if anyone has come to our farm and they see all of our pictures still there. Do you think the walkers are gone?" She looked at him.

He had never really thought of it before but she was looking at him with those big eyes of hers and he found himself thinking of it now. "I'm sure that herd's moved on," he said and he meant it. It had been so long. No way were those workers still around there.

She seemed to like his answer for she smiled faintly and then he watched as she stretched her neck towards him and her lips touched his softly. He sat frozen still as she kissed him and just as he decided to press his lips back against hers, she was pulling back. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him, giving him that same soft smile she always did that made his stomach flip.

She went back to looking through the photo album but he found himself looking at her. His lips trembled to touch hers again and his fingers itched to come into contact with her. He told himself that he was allowed to kiss her and touch her if that was what he wanted. He told himself that she wanted it, too. She had just kissed him. It obviously meant she wanted to be kissed by him.

But he couldn't just kiss her. That wasn't how he was. He didn't just go around, kissing.

"Maybe I can head back there," she said softly. "See how it is."

He frowned. "Maybe _we_ can head back there."

She lifted her head and looked at him again. "What about Rick?"

"I told him we'd walk 'em to Terminus but we're not goin' in," he said.

Beth looked at him and didn't say anything and he wished she would because he had no idea what she was thinking. The way she was looking at him right now, it was as if he had just done the greatest thing in the world for her, her eyes all shining and sparkling. People didn't look at him like that. But there Beth sat, staring at him like he was some damn hero.

"Do you like kissing me?" She asked him practically in a whisper.

Daryl wasn't going to lie. The question surprised the hell out of him and he knew how he wanted to answer but he didn't know if he actually could.

"Because I like kissing you," she said softly, her eyes never leaving his. "It makes me happy."

Daryl stared at her and he still didn't know how to answer; if he ever could answer. And Beth just kept looking at him and he felt like he just wanted to get to his feet and get out of there and put some distance between them. He could never think or breathe around her. It was a miracle he had survived this long in her company without making himself become walker bait. When she was around, he tended to forget a lot of things except her. Her and making sure she was happy.

Slowly, he lifted a hand, still unsure of himself but forcing himself to keep going. It was like he told her. He wasn't afraid of anything. Beth sat there and didn't move, waiting for him to keep making his move. They were both treating one another like rabbits easily startled. He almost smirked at the idea, neither wanting to scare the other.

When his fingertips touched her cheek, he watched in amazement as her eyelids fluttered shut from his touch and she moved her head forward just enough for him to notice. He looked at her face and his thumb began running back and forth along the black uneven stiches on her cheek. He couldn't stop himself from leaning in and he pressed his lips to the mark, listening as she inhaled a soft gasp of air, having not expected him to do that. Hell, he hadn't expected him to do it either. But now that he had, he didn't pull away.

His other hand lifted to the back of her neck, curving around her cool skin and he wondered – not for the first time – how her skin could still stay so soft and smooth at the end of the world. His lips moved from her cheek and he brushed his lips across hers. He could do this. He was Daryl Dixon. There wasn't too much anymore that he couldn't do. And he sure as hell could sit and kiss Beth Greene if it was what they both wanted.

And he did want this. He could finally admit it to himself. He wanted this and her and everything she wanted to give him.

He shifted himself, trying to get them closer, and Beth nearly sank against him, her hands creeping up his arms and over his shoulders, her lips pressing back against his as their kiss continued; intensified. She still tasted like strawberries and Daryl only wanted more.

But someone clearing their throat broke their lips apart and both turned their heads to see who had come up on them without either realizing it.

It was Carl and he stood at the top of the stairs, grinning when he saw them. "Don't mind me," he said cheekily. "I'm just looking for a few extra blankets."

Daryl's hands slipped away from Beth and he found himself unable to look at either of them. He felt Beth's eyes on him for a moment and then she stood up.

"I saw a few in the closet, Carl," Beth told him and Daryl felt himself scowling. Did she have to sound so damn sweet to everyone? "There you go," she said after handing them to Carl.

"Thanks, Beth. You two have a great night," Carl said and Daryl didn't have to look at him to know that he was grinning. He could _hear_ it.

As Carl could be heard going down the stairs back to the first floor, Beth sat down again once more beside Daryl on the floor.

"You don't have to be embarrassed, Daryl," she said softly.

He looked at her with a frown. "I ain't." She nodded though he could tell she didn't believe him and he wasn't too sure why but that just made him pissed. "You think I'm embarrassed by you just because I don't want to put on a show?"

She shrugged a shoulder, hardly blinking an eye at the sharpness in his tone. He supposed if anyone was used to him snapping and breathing fire, it'd be Beth. "I know how private you are, Daryl, and I'm not asking you to announce… whatever this is between us to anyone. I'm just saying you don't have to get so red when someone sees us kissing. You kissing me isn't the end of the world," she then said.

He snorted a little. "No shit. I think somethin' already beat us to the end of the world."

She leaned into him then, her head resting on his shoulder and her hand finding his, fingers lacing together. "You kissing me is one of the nicest things that has ever happened to me."

He wanted to snort at that again and call her bullshit but he found that he couldn't. He didn't know if he believed her. How could he? Having his chapped lips and his dirty hands on her was one of the nicest things to happen in her life? Her life of sunshine and singing? He couldn't really believe her.

But he sat there with her and found that he wanted to.

…

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><p>The night passed without incident and in the morning, they all found themselves slow to get ready to leave. The house wasn't anything special. Just a house. But it was buried in the woods and had a water pump just outside the back door and it was quiet. It was almost nice. There was a dark cellar and Rick and Daryl went down to explore it a bit more, Rick's eyes almost bugging from his head when they found an entire sack of potatoes. Some were wrinkled and rotten but the others had been stored well enough to still be good enough to eat and Rick hoisted the sack in his arms with a lightness in his moves that Daryl imagined hadn't been used by the man since the prison.<p>

"Oh my gosh!" Beth exclaimed when Rick presented them with the bounty.

"We should have checked it out last night," Rick said, dropping the sack onto the table in the kitchen and taking out his knife.

"Some more stuff down there. These people were into cannin'," Daryl said to all of them but his eyes on Beth. "Some cans and jars of other vegetables. Jam, too."

"No way!" Carl was the one to exclaim and he grabbed Michonne's hand, the woman laughing as she followed behind the eager boy, both heading down the narrow stairs, and Rick grinned, too.

Beth was practically humming as she picked up a potato, holding it up as if she had never seen anything more beautiful. She looked to Daryl and smiled and he found himself smiling, too. He liked making her happy. He liked being able to make her smile and see her eyes sparkle and he knew she smiled like that at everyone but yet, he knew, that no one got the particular smile that she always seemed to give him if she wasn't pissed at him.

She looked towards Rick but he seemed distracted, going through the sack and seeing just how many potatoes they had and she then looked back towards Daryl. As quickly as she could, she bounced up on her toes and gave him a short kiss, her lips smacking softly against his but before Daryl could even react, she was gone again, going towards the stairs and heading down into the cellar as well to check out the other food stored down there.

Daryl felt the tips of his ears turn red and he slung his crossbow onto his shoulder, getting himself ready to go outside and keep watch, but not before he saw the small amused smile pulling at the corners of Rick's mouth as the man still pretended to be preoccupied with the sack of potatoes. Daryl wondered why Rick didn't look surprised.

…

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><p><strong>Thank you so much for reading and please comment!<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**Just a quick note about this chapter to explain myself. These five are my favorite characters. I usually love Glenn as well but since he has become nothing more than GlennMaggie, he has bored the hell out of me. As for the others in the boxcar in Terminus, I could always watch the show without them and not really care if they were there or not. **

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><p>…<p>

**Chapter Eleven.**

They stayed at the house for one more day before Rick said it was time to move out. Beth was reluctant to leave but she gathered her things with the rest of them and walked away without looking over her shoulder for one last look. This time, she and Daryl walked beside one another and she felt a warmth in her chest, knowing he was putting himself willingly so close to him. After Carl walking in on them kissing, she had just assumed Daryl would want to keep his distance from her. She loved when he proved her wrong.

"I haven't see any more signs from Maggie to Glenn," she noted quietly.

Daryl grunted something. "Maybe they found one another."

"Good," she said. "I hope so."

Daryl looked at her at that and she just shrugged. She was so angry – and so, so hurt – with Maggie but Maggie and Glenn were married. They loved one another. She couldn't be angry or hurt that they had been looking for one another. She could be angry and hurt that Maggie didn't seem to care too much about her to look for her, too, but she couldn't be angry for her wanting to find her husband.

"I've been thinkin'," Daryl said, changing the subject, clearing his throat as he did as if he was nervous. "Once we get these three to Terminus, you and me can head back towards the farm. Check it out."

She gasped. "Really?" And she couldn't help but throw her arms around his neck. "Thank you. Thank you, Daryl." She squeezed him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Yeah, yeah," Daryl muttered, patting her back, clearly embarrassed, but she found herself, in that moment, not really caring.

She pulled away, beaming up at him, and from the corner of her eye, she saw the other three looking back to them with open curiosity. She didn't care though about that either and she just kept smiling up at him as they continued walking. She felt her heart pounding in her chest and her stomach fluttering. She had been worried that he would follow Rick anywhere. Whatever Rick said, Daryl would agree, falling back into the roles they had fallen into after the farm and before the prison. Rick leading them all and making all of the decisions and Daryl always agreeing with him no matter what.

But he had kept his promise to _her_. Her who he kissed and touched the cut over her cheek and who he didn't want to leave because she was his. She didn't want to go to Terminus – not only because Maggie was there and she didn't feel like seeing her sister right then – but because she just didn't have a good feeling about the place. Sanctuary for all? Fat chance. She just didn't believe it. It seemed too good to be true and in this world, if it was too good to be true, it probably was. Daryl had been teaching her how to listen to her gut and how to trust it and with Terminus, her gut wanted to be nowhere near it.

And Daryl was going to stay right there with her. If she wasn't going to go to Terminus, neither was he no matter what Rick was doing. She hoped silently that Rick, Michonne and Carl would all be against going to Terminus, too, and come back to the farm with them.

The farm. She nearly sighed as she imagined the farm. Was the house still standing or had the herd torn it down as they passed through? And had they passed through or were there some still hanging around? No matter what was there now, she couldn't wait to see it. Just to see it again, her body was already humming at the anticipation of going home. Home. The prison had been home for a while but it hadn't been the farm. Nothing was like the farm. She had been born there, grew up there. That was her true home and always would be no matter what else happened.

Daryl was taking her home.

He had no idea how badly she wanted to kiss him right then but not even she would grab him and kiss him in front of the others like that. She loved kissing Daryl and was surprised at how gentle and hesitant – almost shy – he was when they kissed but they still hadn't talked about what this was between them. Maybe, in this new world, talks like that were pointless. Anything could happen and none of them had very long on this earth. Maybe there was no room anymore for talks of commitment and the future.

They had kissed. She was his. And maybe that was enough.

The sun was almost directly overhead when they stepped off the road they were following and slipped into the trees. Rick didn't want to approach Terminus straight on. Even though he wanted to get there badly, and hopefully offer safeness to his son, he wanted to be over-cautious and not stupid. They didn't know what sort of place this was. Standing hidden in the trees, they saw Terminus – what was once a large train station surrounded by a chain link fence. The whole place seemed massive but the knots in Beth's stomach didn't ease. She couldn't help but reach her hand out just enough for her knuckles to brush against Daryl's hand as he stood beside her, seeing he was next to her but needing to feel him, too. He didn't react or even glance at her. He kept standing next to Rick as both looked ahead.

"It's quiet," Michonne was the first one to speak – noting what they all did.

"It don't feel right," Daryl then added quietly.

Rick looked to Daryl. "Our people might be in there."

Daryl nodded, not arguing. "They might be. You'll go in and see for yourself."

Rick sighed softly. "Come in with us, man."

Daryl just shook his head though. "I told you we'd walk you to Terminus but Beth and I aren't comin' in. We have other plans."

"Going back to the farm is not a plan," Rick frowned.

"It is for us," Daryl said. "Why don't you come with us? Why do you need to go in there?"

Rick was quiet, obviously not able to provide an answer. "We need a place, Daryl," he said, looking to him and then back to Beth standing behind him. "Your father talked about having a safe place for us to live."

"Yes, he did," she nodded. "But he was the one to show us that nowhere is really safe."

They were all quiet for a moment after that, each lost to their own thoughts of everything that they had lost in just a few weeks. She no longer closed her eyes and saw the Governor swinging that katana into her father's neck but it didn't mean the memory wouldn't be forever there. She supposed a part of herself was still in shock and hadn't yet fully mourned the loss of her father though she felt it every single day.

"I don't want to split up again. We can't make it on our own anymore," Rick said.

"You know where we'll be and we know where you'll be," Daryl said, still not budging. "Me and Beth know how to handle ourselves," he then said in a lower voice.

Rick just stared at him. And then, as if sensing that no more arguing could be done, he sighed softly and gave his head a single nod.

"Alright," he almost whispered and almost to himself. He then looked to Daryl before back to Beth and then to Daryl again. He looked at him for a long moment before giving his head another nod. "I get it," he said and he stared at Daryl and Beth wondered what he meant because there was something in his words and eyes that he was getting more than just she and Daryl not going to Terminus; something more to get that Beth didn't even know.

Rick then looked back to Michonne and Carl for a long moment and then his eyes lingered on Terminus. He looked back to Daryl and the two seemed to have a silent conversation between them with just their eyes.

"Alright," Rick said once more. "We'll go to the farm."

"We?" Beth felt her eyes widen slightly.

Rick nodded, looking back to Carl before back to her and Daryl. "We."

They were all quiet for a moment, letting the weight of Rick's announcement settle over them. She could hardly believe it. Just a moment ago, he had been so determined to get to Terminus – to get them _all_ to Terminus – and now, he was willing to just walk away?

Daryl looked at him for a moment and then looked back to Beth. Without a word, he jerked his head to the side and she nodded, stepping away from him so they could speak by themselves. She was very aware of how close he stood to her and she had to tilt her chin up so she could look into his face.

"What are you thinking?" She asked in a soft voice, not sure if he wanted the others to overhear since he had guided them away from them a few feet.

"I'm thinkin'… if we get to the farm and it's still overrun or there's not even a farm, we come back here with them," he said and he was watching her closely, waiting for her reaction.

Beth was quiet, letting that idea roll in her head for a minute. She knew it was the logical thing to do. The farm right now may not even exist anymore for all she knew and if that was true, if they got there and there was just nothing, where else did they have to go? What other choice would they have? Maybe, this time, her gut was wrong and absolutely nothing was wrong with Terminus. Maybe it could be a good place for them all.

She glanced towards the large brick structure through the trees. Was there any good place left on this earth though?

She looked back to him, Daryl's eyes resting intent on him. It felt like, for so long now, it had been just the two of them. It had started out rocky – to put it lightly – and sometimes, it wasn't easy between them but something had forged between them. Even if they hadn't kissed, there was this connection she felt with him that she didn't feel with the others. If he was willing to take her back to the farm then she should be willing to come back here if that was what he wanted. They were a team. She had thought of maybe walking away from him but she knew, deep down, she could never do that. Not after everything.

She swallowed and then felt herself nodding her head. "Okay," she said softly.

Daryl looked at her for a long second as if making sure that she really meant it and she made sure to keep her eyes locked with his so he didn't doubt. The decision was made hesitantly – they both knew that – and her gut was still twisting at the idea but if that was what Daryl wanted, it was time she do something for him.

She nodded again and this time, Daryl gave his head a single head nod.

He turned and headed back towards Rick, telling him what he and Beth had decided upon and the man smiled at it, clapping Daryl on the shoulder. He then looked to Beth and she did her best to give him a small smile before he came to her.

"If the farm is still there, we'll stay there for as long as we can," Rick promised to her and Beth smiled a little easier.

As she stood on her toes and her arms slid around Rick's shoulders in a hug, she closed her eyes and gave a swift prayer if there was anyone still above that the farm was still there.

When she opened her eyes and Rick's arms fell from around her, she looked at Daryl and saw that he had been watching the two hug with a tightness in his jaw. She couldn't help but frown, wondering why his scowl had returned to his face. He had gotten better about not wearing it constantly all of the time anymore.

"What if the others are in there?" Carl asked as they turned and began walking the way they came. The farm was west and they followed the sun in the sky.

"If they are, maybe we'll see them again someday," Rick said, giving his son a small smile.

"Yeah," Carl nodded. "I'm glad we're not going in," he then revealed.

"Me, too," Michonne said from her spot she was walking in beside Beth.

"Really?" Beth couldn't hide her surprise.

"What happened on the side of the road…" Michonne trailed off and Beth waited. She knew that, like Daryl, Michonne was a woman of few words. "I can't trust anyone but us."

Beth nodded in complete agreement and she couldn't help but lift her fingers to the bumpy stitches along her cheek.

"That hurting?" Michonne asked, catching her movements.

"No," Beth shook her head honestly. "I just haven't looked at myself in a mirror for so long. Does it look terrible?"

"No," Michonne gave her a small smile. "Like Daryl said, it's badass."

She couldn't help but laugh a little at that. "Yeah. Badass Beth."

Michonne laughed, too. "That's a nickname of a person no one would want to mess with."

Beth felt a warmth in her chest and a smile spreading across her lips. "Badass Beth," she said again, quieter this time, more to herself. She already definitely loved the sound of it.

They stopped as the sun began sinking lower in the sky, finding a place to set up camp for the night.

"Nowhere near the road," Daryl said gruffly, pulling them further into the woods.

"There's a car," Beth explained though no one had asked. "A black car with a white cross. Daryl and I were staying at a funeral home and we had just left when this car pulled up and two men ran inside." Rick was staring at her and she could see him becoming tense as he listened to her story. "They wanted me for some reason. They had been watching us and had seen me-"

"They're not gonna get you," Daryl interrupted, practically in a growl.

And she knew the others were there but she couldn't help but lift a hand and rest it on his arm. "I know, Daryl," she said softly to him, smiling faintly, letting him know that she trusted him. Of course she did. "You won't let them."

They set up a perimeter next to a large boulder and Beth started a small fire for them. They shared the jar of peanut butter and a jar of pickles they had found in the house's cellar and Beth and Daryl sat beside one another, their arms brushing against one another with every movement the other made. She couldn't help but shiver each time he touched her.

"You cold?" He asked, turning his head to look at her.

She just smiled up at him and shook her head. He wouldn't understand that just being near him, every nerve in her body was standing on end and the slightest movement from him gave them all a jolt. At least, she didn't think he would understand.

"I can't wait to see all of our stuff still there," Carl said. He looked to Michonne. "We had all been camping out but we had just moved everything inside right before the herd came. I had found a Twix bar hidden in one of the kitchen drawers. It's still in my pack there."

He and Michonne shared a grin at that.

"My daddy had more ammunition there," Beth told them. "And another shotgun."

"There's probably still gas for the generator. We could all take showers," Rick said.

"Oh my god," Beth sighed at just the thought. "That's the most wonderful thing I've ever heard," she said and she could see Daryl smirk from the corner of her eye.

After they ate, Daryl volunteered for first watch and Rick told the others to get some rest. Beth laid down but she watched as Daryl stepped over their strings of cans around their small camp and leaned against the boulder, crossbow in his hands. She looked to Michonne, Rick and Carl, all laying down, and she knew they weren't asleep yet but she didn't care. She knew they all knew something was going on between her and Daryl. They weren't blind and she supposed it was rather obvious.

She just hoped none of them asked questions because she certainly didn't have answers.

She stood up and Daryl immediately turned his head to watch her.

"You should get some sleep," he said gruffly but she ignored and came to stand beside him, her back leaning against the boulder behind them.

She didn't say anything. She just rested her head against his bicep and was pleased when he didn't tense. He seemed to be getting more and more comfortable with her touching him.

"Thank you for earlier," she said softly. "For keeping your promise."

Daryl was quiet and she didn't think he would respond. She heard the fire crackling; the crickets chirping. Other than that, the woods seemed quiet. None of them would fool themselves into actually thinking that.

"I'm realizin' there's not much I wouldn' do for you," he then responded in a quiet voice and she thought she had imagined it at first but she lifted her head and saw him looking down at her - even in the dark, his blush evident - and she smiled, feeling her heart growing light in her chest.

And she didn't care if the others were watching. Right then, it had to be done and she wasn't going to let the moment pass by without doing what she wanted to do more than anything.

She stood up on her toes, her hands slipping onto the back of his neck, and she pressed her lips to his. Almost immediately after, she felt his hands slide onto her hips, light and hesitant as always, and he kissed her back.

…

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><p><strong>Thank you so much for reading and please review!<strong>


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